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£\bv<xvy  of  <the  "theological  geminaty 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Charles  T.   Fritsch 
BS/235 
.6472 


THE    NEW-CENTURY   BIBLE 
GENESIS 


OXFORD 
HORACE  HART,  PRINTER   TO  THE  UNIVERSITY 


General  Editor  : 
Principal  Walter  F.  Adeney,  M.A.,  D.D. 


(Beneeie 


INTRODUCTION ;  REVISED  VERSION  WITH 
NOTES,  GIVING  AN  ANALYSIS  SHOWING 
FROM  WHICH  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  DOCU- 
MENTS EACH  PORTION  OF  THE  TEXT 
IS  TAKEN;    INDEX  AND   MAP 


EDITED   BY 


W.  H.  BENNETT,  D.D.  (Aber.) 

M.A.  (LOND.),  LITT.D.  (CAMB.),  PROFESSOR,  NEW  COLLEGE  AND 

HACKNEY   COLLEGE,    LONDON,    SOMETIME   FELLOW   OF 

ST.    JOHN'S  COLLEGE,   CAMBRIDGE 


NEW  YORK:  HENRY  FROWDE 

OXFORD   UNIVERSITY   PRESS,   AMERICAN    BRANCH 

EDINBURGH  :  T.  C.  6V  E.  C.  JACK 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Editor's  Introduction i 

Text  of  the  Revised  Version  with  Annotations     .       73 
Index .  .     409 


MAP :  The  Ancient  World  .        .         .        To  face  Title 

Diagram  of  Semitic  Cosmology  66 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS 

INTRODUCTION 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS 


INTRODUCTION 

i.  The  Message  of  GENESIS. 

In  this  book  many  voices  speak  to  us  from  a  remote 
past.     It  has  been  written  of  Jesus  : — 

'  Dim  tracts  of  time  divide 

Those  golden  days  from  me, 
Thy  voice  comes  strange  o'er  years  of  change, 

How  can  we  follow  Thee? 

Comes  faint  and  far  Thy  voice 

From  vales  of  Galilee, 
The  vision  fades  in  ancient  shades, 

How  should  we  follow  Thee  ? ' 

The  'tracts  of  time*  which  divide  us  from  the  characters 
of  Genesis,  and  even  from  the  authors  who  tell  their  story, 
are  longer  by  centuries,  and  sometimes  by  millenniums, 
than  those  which  have  elapsed  since  our  Lord  was  a  man 
among  men.  Yet  the  lines  quoted  above  are  only  partly 
true  in  either  case.  Abraham,  Jacob,  and  Joseph  are  no 
mere  shadowy  visions,  but  familiar  friends,  more  real  to 
many  than  the  statesmen  and  generals  of  our  own  day  ; 
and  the  far-off  voices  are  neither  faint  nor  strange,  but 
still  speak  clear,  intelligible,  and  emphatic  words  on  faith, 
and  hope,  and  duty.  The  Patriarchs  appeal  to  us,  interest 
and  help  us,  because  they  are  types  of  classes  of  men; 
their  adventures  were  not  unfamiliar  experiences  in  the 
ancient  East,  and  still  stand  as  vivid  pictures  and  sym- 
bols of  crises  in  human  life  to-day.  There  have  been- 
there  are  still—many  Abrahams  who  have  gone  out,  not 
knowing  whither  they  went,  in  obedience  to  some  dictate 

B  2 


4  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

of  conscience,  to  some  prospect  of  spiritual  advantage, 
rightly  interpreted  as  the  call  of  God  ;  many  Jacobs,  who 
have,  so  to  speak,  stumbled  into  the  Divine  Presence, 
when  their  only  thought  was  of  headlong  flight  from  the 
consequences  of  weakness,  folly,  and  sin  ;  many  Josephs, 
too,  who  have  found  in  humiliating  ruin  the  appointed 
pathway  to  honourable  service.  Such  vicissitudes  of 
fortune  or  of  conduct  are  not  far  from  any  of  us,  and  we 
are  all  encouraged  by  the  possibilities  of  grace  suggested 
by  these  ancient  stories.  A  mediaeval  Rabbi  has  well 
said  that  the  faults  and  failures  of  prophets,  patriarchs, 
and  saints  are  recorded  for  our  encouragement ;  we  see 
that  the  heroes  of  the  inspired  narrative  are  human,  and 
that  what  is  told  of  them  is  a  story  of  Divine  enabling 
which  may  be  read  as  a  promise  to  our  feeble  and  erring 
selves.  It  is  the  human,  the  representative  character  of 
these  narratives  which  has  preserved  them,  and  procured 
for  them  a  place  in  Scripture.  Many  generations  felt  that 
they  expressed  real  experiences,  and  therefore  handed 
them  on  as  their  own  testimony  also  to  the  righteousness 
and  love  of  God. 

Thus  the  lives  of  the  Patriarchs  enshrine  for  us  some 
of  the  most  primitive  and  yet  the  most  permanent  ideas 
as  to  man,  and  life,  and  God.  Going  further  back,  the 
story  of  the  Fall  dramatizes,  so  to  speak,  the  awakening 
to  the  sense  of  sin  in  the  race  and  in  the  individual.  It 
helps  us,  as  it  has  helped  mankind  ever  since  it  was 
written,  to  interpret  the  distrust  and  fear  which  hinder 
our  fellowship  with  God.  But  the  stories  of  the  Creation, 
the  Fall,  and  the  Flood  also  expound  men's  faiths  con- 
cerning God  and  Nature,  and  show  us  how  the  Divine 
Life  had  revealed  itself  long  ago  as  One,  ruling  alike 
everywhere  in  the  known  and  the  unknown. 

The  Book  of  Genesis  tells  us,  moreover,  of  God  in 
history.  By  a  bold  and  picturesque  figure,  common  to 
the  early  annals  of  Israel  and  other  communities,  the 
fortunes  of  peoples— Ishmael,  Israel,  Edom— are  depicted 


^K 


INTRODUCTION 


as  the  adventures  of  their  heroic  ancestors.  In  these  we 
constantly  read  of  an  overruling  Providence ;  God  calls 
Abraham  from  Haran  ;  meets  Jacob  at  Bethel,  and  Hagar 
in  the  wilderness.  Thus  from  the  outset  the  history  of 
Israel  is  part  of  its  Bible,  and  there  is  a  recognition  of 
the  Divine  government  of  nations.  In  this  way  our  book 
strikes  one  of  the  key-notes  of  O.  T.  Revelation— the 
rights  of  religion  in  national  and  international  politics. 
The  same  truth  is  further  emphasized  by  the  absence  of 
any  anxiety  to  distinguish  the  history  of  single  persons 
from  that  of  tribes  ;  the  O.  T.  gives  no  countenance  to 
the  idea  that  the  obligations  of  a  people  are  less  stringent 
and  exacting  than  those  of  individuals,  but  treats  both 
alike  as  regards  duty  to  God  and  man. 

Again,  there  are  many  striking  illustrations  in  Genesis 
of  the  fact  that  inspiration  constantly  leads  men  on  to 
new  truth,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  enables  them  to 
retain  what  was  true  in  their  old  faith,  and  thus  to 
acknowledge  the  continuity  of  Revelation,  and  to  find 
a  Word  of  God  alike  in  the  earlier  and  less  perfect,  and  in 
the  more  advanced  teaching  of  their  sacred  literature. 
Thus  the  two  accounts  of  the  Creation  1  represent  two 
different  stages  of  religious  thought.  Yet  the  reverence 
for  the  more  ancient  story  did  not  prevent  the  Israelites 
from  accepting  another  symbolic  narrative  which  em- 
bodied more  advanced  truth  ;  nor  did  their  enthusiastic 
appreciation  of  new  light  lead  them  to  cast  aside  a  Scrip- 
ture hallowed  by  many  sacred  memories  and  associa- 
tions. The  two  were  placed  side  by  side.  Our  authors 
have  even  been  careful  to  preserve  edifying  fragments  of 
old  tradition  when  the  rest  of  a  story  had  to  be  discarded, 
because  it  shocked  spiritual  feelings  enlightened  by  the 
progress  of  Revelation ;  as,  for  instance,  in  the  case  of 
the  account 2  of  the  marriage  of  the  sons  of  God  and  the 
daughters  of  men,  which  is  obviously  incomplete.     It  is 

1  Gen.  ii.  4b-25  (the  older).     Gen.  i.  i— ii.  4a. 

2  Gen.  vi.  1-4. 


6  THE   BOOK   OF  GENESIS 

doubtless  true  that  the  authors  of  Genesis  would  not  have 
enforced  its  lessons  in  such  words  as  have  been  used  here ; 
if  they  had  worked  out  these  ideas  they  would  probably 
have  stated  them  ;  but  it  is  the  property  of  inspired  truths, 
as  of  great  formulae  of  science  like  the  law  of  gravitation, 
that  in  later  ages  they  have  a  far  wider  application  than 
their  authors  ever  dreamed  of.  We  perhaps  understand 
our  book  best  if  we  regard  it  as  a  great  gallery  of  sacred 
pictures  in  which  the  facts  of  the  spiritual  life  are  illus- 
trated by  graphic  word-painting;  its  narratives  bear  much 
the  same  relation  to  dogmatic  theology  that  a  landscape 
by  Turner  does  to  an  ordnance  map.  But,  above  all  else, 
and  in  spite  of  all  differences  in  the  way  of  thinking  and 
speaking,  one  clear  truth  is  handed  down  to  us  from  these 
ancient  days.  Genesis,  as  has  been  said,  includes  the 
spiritual  experiences  of  many  generations  ;  and  all  the 
varied  voices  with  which  it  speaks  assure  us  of  the  reality 
of  man's  fellowship  with  God.  Later  on  it  will  be  ex- 
plained that  the  contents  of  this  book  range  from  the  dim 
traditions  which  were  Israel's  earliest  memories  to  the 
religious  speculations  of  the  Jews  who  lived  after  the  Exile 
—  a  period  of  some  hundreds  of  years.  The  succession  of 
inspired  writers  whose  works  have  been  combined  to  form 
the  Pentateuch  are  all  convinced  that  God  was  near  to 
man,  speaking  to  him,  listening  to  his  prayers,  revealing 
Himself  in  many  ways,  from  the  time  when  He  walked  in 
the  Garden  with  Adam  and  Eve  till  He  spake  with 
Moses  face  to  face  as  a  man  talketh  with  his  friend. 
Moreover,  in  the  pictures  of  patriarchal  times  the  inspired 
writers  reveal  their  own  experiences,  and  tell  us  that  they 
too  knew  God  and  were  found  of  Him.  They  swell  the 
chorus  of  agelong,  world-wide  testimony  which  encour- 
ages us  to  believe  that  God  is  found  by  those  who  seek 
Him ;  and  thus  they  help  to  justify  the  believer  in 
interpreting  his  spiritual  life  as  a  true  fellowship  with  the 
Invisible  Presence  of  Infinite  and  Eternal  Love. 
Thus  in  Genesis  we  learn  something  of  the  beginnings 


INTRODUCTION  7 

of  the  history  which  was  the  Divine  preparation  for  the 
coining  of  Christ ;  we  see  men  discerning  in  that  history 
the  first  steps  towards  a  work  of  God  which  they  did  not 
fully  understand,  but  which  was  made  manifest  in  the 
Incarnation  ;  we  are  shown  something  of  that  progressive 
Revelation  which  culminated  in  the  N.T. 

2.    The  Historical  Circumstances 
of  the  Period. 

The  period  with  which  Genesis  deals  appears  at  first 
sight  to  be  that  from  the  Creation  to  the  Death  of 
Joseph.  A  closer  examination l,  however,  shows  that  there 
are  references  to  the  history  of  Israel,  at  any  rate  as  late 
as  the  time  of  David2,  and  perhaps  as  late  as  that  of 
Jeroboam  II3.  It  is  impossible  to  attempt  to  deal  with 
these  many  centuries  in  detail,  but  a  few  words  may  be 
given  to  the  general  situation.  The  'world'  of  Genesis 
includes  Egypt,  Arabia,  and  Western  Asia,  from  the 
Mediterranean  to  the  lands  east  of  the  Tigris,  and  from 
the  Black  Sea  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  but  the  writers  had 
only  dim  ideas  of  the  country  beyond  the  Tigris,  or  north 
of  the  head- waters  of  that  river  and  the  Euphrates.  This 
' world'  of  Genesis  formed  a  closely  connected  interna- 
tional system,  like  the  Greek  states  and  the  nations  of 
modern  Christendom.  Our  book  has  been  compiled 4  out 
of  a  series  of  documents,  and  these  documents  again  have 
been  compiled  from  older  works  and  from  traditions5. 
The  people  who  told  the  oldest  traditions  in  the  most 
primitive  form  in  which  we  can  trace  them  in  Genesis 
thought  of  the  world  as  consisting  of  the  city-states  of 

1  See  p.  47.  2  See  on  xxxvi.  31. 

3  See  on  xlix.  4  See  Composition,  pp.  on- 

5  Neither  the  memory  nor  the  imagination  of  Israel  could 
go  back  to  a  time  at  which  this  international  system  did  not 
exist ;  except  that  the  dim,  far-off  ages  from  the  Creation 
to  the  building  of  the  Tower  of  Babel  came  to  be  regarded 
as  a  direct  preparation  for  it. 


8  THE   BOOK  OF  GENESIS 

Palestine  and  Phoenicia,  the  nomad  tribes  of  the  desert, 
and  the  empires  of  the  Nile  valley  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  plains  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris  on  the  other. 
The  ruling  races  in  Egypt,  Assyria,  and  Babylonia 
changed  from  century  to  century  ;  sometimes  each  of 
these  dominions  was  held  in  a  single  hand,  sometimes 
each  was  divided  between  a  number  of  petty  princes ;  but 
always  the  two  foci  of  the  world's  life  were  Egypt  and 
Babylon l.  Palestine  was  usually  subject  to  one  or  other 
of  the  two  ;  or  else  debatable  ground,  the  battle-field  on 
which  their  armies  met.  Thus  Palestine  was  saturated 
with  the  influence,  political,  social,  commercial,  and 
religious,  of  Egypt  and  Babylon.  Sometimes  the  one 
was  dominant,  sometimes  the  other ;  sometimes  both 
the  great  powers  were  absorbed  at  the  same  time  by 
internal  distractions,  and  Palestine  was  left  for  a  while 
to  itself.  But  commercial,  diplomatic,  and  social  inter- 
course with  Egypt  and  the  East  did  not  cease  when 
Pharaoh  or  Sargon  was  too  busy  at  home  to  send  an 
army  into  Palestine.  The  opinion  is  now  very  widely 
held  that  throughout  our  period  the  great  religious  and 
social  influence  in  the  world  was  Babylon. 

During  the  period  before  the  conquest  of  Canaan  the 
tribes  which  afterwards  became  Israel  roamed  as  nomads 
through  this  ancient  world,  encamping  now  by  the 
Euphrates,  now  at  Haran,  now  by  the  Nile ;  sometimes 
traversing  Canaan,  but  mostly  frequenting  the  pasture 
lands  south  and  east  of  Palestine.  An  interval,  as  it 
seems,  when  none  of  the  great  powers  could  interfere  in 
the  Promised  Land,  enabled  them  to  obtain  a  footing 
east  and  west  of  Jordan  ;  and  after  a  long  and  arduous 
struggle  the  tribes  of  Israel  combined  with  each  other, 
and  with  many  of  the  previous  inhabitants  of  Canaan, 
to  form   first  the  united  kingdom  of  Saul,  David,  and 

1  '  Babylon '  is  used  for  the  sake  of  brevity  for  '  the  states 
in  the  districts  watered  by  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris.' 


INTRODUCTION  9 

Solomon,  and  then  the  two  kingdoms  of  Judah  and 
Israel.  During  this  period  the  Israelites  were  at  various 
times  the  allies,  subjects,  enemies,  or  suzerains  of  Ammon, 
Moab,  Edom,  Syria,  and  other  neighbouring  states  and 
peoples l. 

3.  How  GENESIS  was  Written2. 

Genesis  was  not  originally  a  separate  book ;  it  is  merely 
the  first  of  the  five  volumes  into  which  the  Pentateuch 8, 
or  Jewish  Torah  or  Law,  was  divided  for  the  sake  of 
convenience.  But  this  division  was  made  in  just  the 
right  place,  so  that  Genesis,  as  far  as  its  contents  are 
concerned,  is  a  complete  work  in  itself;  it  concludes  the 
history  of  the  Patriarchs,  and  leaves  the  beginnings  of 
the  history  of  Israel,  as  a  nation,  for  Exodus.  Never- 
theless, as  Genesis  was  originally  part  of  the  Pentateuch, 
its  history  is  that  of  the  whole  work,  and  we  cannot 
understand  how  Genesis  was  written  without  briefly 
sketching  the  history  of  the  composition  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch. 

The  Pentateuch4  was  not  an  original  work  written 
throughout  in  the  same  period  by  a  single  author  ;  it  was 
a  compilation  from  earlier  works,  some  of  which  were 
themselves  compilations  from  still  earlier  works.  It  was 
the  final  edition 5  of  the  Law  of  Israel,  these  earlier  works 
being  former  editions  of  the  Law. 

To  the  reader  of  Genesis  the  title  'Law'  seems  out  of 
place,  but  a  glance  at  the  rest  of  the  Pentateuch  shows 

1  Cf.  Interpretation,  p.  47. 

3  For  the  traditional  theory  that  the  whole  of  the  Pentateuch 
was  actually  written  by  Moses  see  Appendix. 

3  Pentateuch  means  'the  five-volumed  (book).' 

4  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  very  commonly  held  that  the 
original  work  included  also  Joshua  ;  and  this  work  is  often 
called  the  Hexateuch  (Hexateuch  =  Pentateuch  and  Joshua); 
according  to  this  view  much  of  what  is  said  in  this  section 
and  elsewhere  of  the  Pentateuch  might  also  be  said  of  the 
1  Hexateuch.' 

5  As  far  as  the  Bible  is  concerned. 


io  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

that  more  than  half  the  contents  are  laws  in  one  form  or 
another,  or  else  sermons  on  the  duty  of  observing  the 
laws.  This  title  '  Law,'  moreover,  shows  us  that  the 
Jews  thought  the  laws  more  important  than  the  history  ; 
the  Pentateuch  to  them  was  first  and  foremost  a  law- 
book ;  the  stories  were  chiefly  useful  as  explaining  or 
illustrating  the  laws. 

But  to  return  to  our  present  subject,  how  our  book 
was  written,  this  may  perhaps  be  best  illustrated  by  a 
comparison  with  what  are  sometimes  called  Harmonies  of 
the  Gospels,  which  have  been  compiled  from  the  four 
Gospels  so  as  to  form  a  continuous  life  of  our  Lord 
which  shall  include  everything  narrated  in  all  the  four. 
In  such  works  paragraphs  and  clauses  from  one  Gospel 
alternate  with  those  from  the  others.  In  the  same  way 
the  Pentateuch  is  a  combination  of  four  earlier  works 
dealing  with  the  history  and  the  laws  of  Israel.  These 
works  will  be  described  in  detail  later  on  ;  we  shall  speak 
of  them  in  this  commentary  as  the  Primitive  Document1, 
the  Elohistic  Document 2,  Deuteronomy3,  and  the  Priestly 
Document4.  These  four  were  combined  by  the  editors 
of  the  Pentateuch  into  a  single  continuous  work.  As  in 
the  case  of  a  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  these  editors 
retained  the  actual  words  of  the  older  works.  In  their 
anxiety  to  include  as  much  as  possible  of  the  contents 
of  these  four  documents  they  will  often  give  the  same 
law  twice  over,  if  it  is  found  in  two  of  the  documents  5 ; 
and  similarly  they  insert  contradictory  laws  and  state- 
ments 6,  and  give  alternative  and  inconsistent  versions 
of  the  same  story.  Thus  there  are  two  accounts  of  the 
Creation,  i.  i— ii.  4a  on  the  one  hand,  and  ii.  4b-25  on 
the  other.  In  the  former,  amongst  other  differences,  man 
is  created  after  the  animals,  whilst  in  the  latter  man  is 


1   Usually  known  as  the  Jehovistic  or  Yahwistic  Document, 
and  denoted  by  the  symbol  J  :   cf.  p.  22. 

-  E  ;  cf.  p.  30.  3  D  ;  cf.  p.  13.  4  P  ;  cf.  p.  34. 

5  e.  g.  Exod.  xx  ;  Deut.  v.        °  e.  g.  Exod.  xx.  24  ;  Deut.  xii. 


INTRODUCTION  n 

created  before  the  animals1.  When  the  agreement 
between  a  narrative  in  one  document  and  the  corre- 
sponding narrative  in  another  was  sufficiently  close, 
the  editors  constructed  a  single  continuous  narrative 
made  up  of  alternate  clauses  or  paragraphs  from  the 
two  documents.  The  account  of  the  Flood,  vi— viii,  is 
such  a  compilation.  Here  again,  in  their  anxiety  to 
preserve  what  they  found  in  the  documents,  the  editors 
did  not  hesitate  to  place  contradictory  statements  side 
by  side.  Thus  some  verses2  tell  us  that  Noah  took 
in  two  of  each  kind  of  animal,  whilst  others3  state  that 
he  took  in  two  of  each  kind  of  unclean  animal,  but  seven 
of  each  kind  of  clean  animal. 

Naturally,  however,  the  editors  thought  it  necessary 
sometimes  to  omit  portions  of  the  documents,  or  to  make 
additions  of  their  own,  or  to  introduce  other  alterations. 
If  a  paragraph  in  one  document  was  word  for  word 
the  same  as  a  paragraph  in  another,  and  both  came  in 
the  same  place,  it  would  have  been  absurd  to  insist  on 
writing  the  same  thing  twice  over.  Probably  too  there 
were  sections  which  the  editors  omitted  because  they 
were  unseemly  or  unedifying.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
constructing  a  continuous  story  out  of  sections  from 
different  works  it  would  be  necessary  to  insert  a  few 
words  here  and  there  to  make  the  whole  read  smoothly. 
Moreover,  in  ancient  times  notes  and  comments  were 
seldom  distinguished  from  the  text  which  they  explained, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  editors  added  many  notes 
and  comments  to  explain  what  they  took  from  the 
documents  or  sources ;  and  these  notes  or  comments, 
in  the  course  of  constant  copying  and  re-copying  of 
manuscripts,  came  to  be  written  as  if  they  were  part 
of  the  book  itself.  They  are  so  found  in  the  existing 
manuscripts,  and  so  printed  in  current  editions  of  the 
Hebrew  Old  Testament  and  the  English  Bible.     It  was 

1  Cf.  also  the  notes  on  these  sections. 

2  vii.  8  f.  3  vii.  a. 


12  THE   BOOK  OF  GENESIS 

the  book  in  its  final  form,  including  such  additions, 
which  was  accepted  as  part  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures, 
first  by  the  Jews,  and  then  by  the  Christian  Church. 

We  have  said  that  the  Pentateuch  was  compiled  from 
four  earlier  works.  This  compilation,  however,  was  not 
done  at  a  single  stroke.  The  final  editor  did  not  combine 
four  documents,  but  two,  one  of  which  had  already  been 
compiled  from  the  three  others.  Very  briefly,  omitting 
details  and  qualifications  for  the  sake  of  simplicity,  the 
process  may  be  described  in  two  different  ways.  First, 
we  may  start  from  our  Pentateuch  and  work  backwards. 
The  compiler  of  our  Pentateuch  had  before  him  two 
works,  the  Priestly  Document1  and  a  threefold  com- 
bination of  earlier  works 2.  This  threefold  combination, 
again,  had  been  compiled  from  Deuteronomy3  and  a 
twofold  combination  of  earlier  works4.  Finally,  this 
twofold  combination  had  previously  been  compiled  from 
two  earlier  works,  the  Primitive  Document 5  and  the 
Elohistic  Document 6. 

Now  let  us  reverse  the  process  and  describe  this  series  of 
compilations  from  the  beginning  rather  more  fully.  In 
early  times,  before  the  division  of  Israel  into  the  Northern 
and  Southern  Kingdoms,  the  Israelites  possessed  numerous 
laws  and  customs,  together  with  many  traditions  as  to 
the  early  history  of  man  and  of  Israel.  Some  of  these 
were  preserved  in  writing,  others  were  handed  down  by 
word  of  mouth.  Many  laws  and  customs  were  simply 
perpetuated  by  habit,  practice,  and  regular  observance. 
At  some  time  between  the  death  of  Solomon  and  the  Fall 
of  Samaria7,  two  collections  were  made  of  these  laws, 
customs,  and  traditions :  one,  the  Primitive  Document, 

1  Denoted  by  the  symbol  P. 

2  Denoted  b}T  the  composite  symbol  JED. 
8  Denoted  by  the  symbol  D. 

4  Denoted  by  the  composite  symbol  JE. 

5  Denoted  by  the  symbol  J. 

6  Denoted  by  the  symbol  E. 

7  Between  about  b.c.  960  to  b.c.  721. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

in  Judah;  the  other,  the  Elohistic  Document,  in  the 
Northern  Kingdom.  As  time  went  on  these  works  were 
somewhat  modified  in  process  of  copying ;  or,  as  we 
should  say,  new  editions  of  them  were  published. 

In  the  reign  of  Manasseh  or  Josiah  a  new  work  was 
compiled  !  in  Judah,  chiefly  dealing  with  laws  and  customs, 
and  was  accepted  as  the  Law  of  Judah  by  a  solemn 
covenant  at  the  time  of  the  reforms  of  Josiah2.  This 
is  the  Book  of  the  Law  found  in  the  temple,  and  included 
the  bulk  of  our  Deuteronomy.  This  also  passed  through 
various  editions. 

About  the  same  time,  probably  a  little  later  than 
B.C.  621,  an  editor  combined  current  editions  of  the 
Primitive  Document3  and  of  the  Elohistic  Document* 
into  a  single  work,  which  we  may  call  the  Twofold 
Document 5. 

At  some  time  during  the  Exile  the  current  editions  of 
Deuteronomy  and  the  Twofold  Document  were  combined 
into  what  we  may  call  the  Threefold  Document6. 

After  the  Exile  a  new  edition  of  the  history,  with  a 
new  collection  of  laws,  was  compiled  at  Babylon,  and 
completed  before  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Neherr.iah 7 ;  this 
was  the  Priestly  Document8.  This  is  probably  the 
Book  of  the  Law  which  Ezra  brought  from  Babylon9. 
This  work  also  passed  through  various  editions. 

Soon  after,  the  current  edition  of  the  Priestly  Document 
was  combined  with  the  Threefold  Document  into  a 
Fourfold  Document10.  It  is  not  certain  whether  this 
Fourfold  Document  was  simply  our  Pentateuch,  or 
whether  it  also  included  Joshua.  If  the  latter  was  the 
case,  Joshua  was  aftenvards  separated  from  the  Penta- 
teuch. Last  of  all  the  Pentateuch  was  divided  into  our 
Five  Books,  and  Genesis  arose  as  a  separate  book. 

1  Between  about  b.c.  700  and  B.C.  621.  a  B.C.  621. 

8  J.  *  E.  6  JE.  6  JED. 

7  b.  c.  444.  •    *  P.  *  Ezra  vii.  6. 

10  JEDP. 


.M 


THE   BOOK   OF  GENESIS 


We  may  further  illustrate  this  process   by  equations 
and  diagrams  ;  first  by  a  series  of  equations  : — 
J  +  E=JE. 
JE  +  D=JED. 
JED  +  P  =  Pentateuch  or1 
j  JED  +  P= JEDP  =  Hexateuch. 
(JEDP  -  Joshua=  Pentateuch. 
By  way  of  diagram  we  may  give  the  following : — 

Customs,  Laws,  and  Traditions. 


i 

) 

i 

JE                                         I 
1 

! 

JED 

1 

;> 

Pentateuch 

These  diagrams  and  equations,  however,  are  only  a  very 
rough  statement  of  the  facts.  Thus  the  authors  of 
Deuteronomy  and  the  Priestly  Document  were  acquainted 
with  one  or  both  of  the  two  earlier  documents,  the 
Primitive  and  the  Elohistic.  Indeed,  the  legal  portions 
of  Deuteronomy  and  the  Priestly  Document  may  be  called 
enlarged  and  emended  editions  of  the  legal  portions  of 
the  Primitive  and  Elohistic  Documents. 

Many  features  in  the  history  of  the  Pentateuch  may  be 
illustrated  from  the  composition  of  the  Gospels.  It  is 
often  maintained  that  there  were  originally  two  main 
records  of  our  Lord's  life  and  teaching,  the  Gospel  of 

1  Cf.  above,  p.  9  n. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

Mark  and  the  Logia  of  Matthew.  These  were  combined 
independently  by  Luke  into  his  Gospel,  and  by  the  author 
of  the  first  Gospel  into  the  Gospel  of  Matthew ;  just  as 
the  Primitive  and  Elohistic  Documents  were  combined 
into  the  Twofold  Document.  John,  as  a  new  and  largely 
independent  edition  of  the  Life  and  Teaching,  may  be 
compared  to  Deuteronomy  ;  and  a  Harmony  of  the  Gospels 
would,  as  we  have  said,  correspond  to  the  Pentateuch. 

We  have  already  explained 1  how  the  Pentateuch  came 
to  be  called  the  Law.  As  Moses  was  the  founder  of  the 
national  religion  of  Israel  its  system  of  law  was  traced 
back  to  him.  This  system  from  time  to  time  was  adapted 
to  the  changing  circumstances  of  successive  periods ;  so 
that  we  have  editions  of  the  Law  during  the  earlier 
monarchy  in  the  Primitive  and  Elohistic  Documents ; 
during  the  later  monarchy  in  Deuteronomy ;  during  the 
period  after  Exile  in  the  Priestly  Document  and  the 
complete  Pentateuch ;  but  these  were  put  forward  as 
developments  of  the  same  system  of  Law ;  it  was  claimed 
that  they  were  governed  by  the  spirit  and  principles  of 
the  great  Lawgiver,  and  that  thus  they  rested  on  his 
authority  ;  hence  each  of  them  was  called  the  Law  of 
Moses.  Similarly,  when  we  speak  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  we  do  not  confine  the  term  to  the  actual  words 
of  Christ,  but  we  include  the  Apostolic  teaching  about 
Christ,  notably  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  the  Atonement. 

We  fear  that  our  readers  will  consider  this  exposition 
cumbrous  and  complicated,  and  yet  we  have  simplified 
it  in  every  possible  way,  omitting  many  details  and 
qualifying  statements,  just  as  in  a  small  map  straight 
lines  are  substituted  for  a  series  of  small  curves.  The 
difficulty  is  partly  artificial,  and  arises  from  the  fact  that 
so  many  even  now  have  grown  up  with  the  idea  that  the 
whole  of  the  Pentateuch  was  actually  written  by  Moses ; 
they  have  always  read  the  book  from  this  point  of  view, 

1  Page  9. 


16  THE   BOOK   OF  GENESIS 

and  it  is  hard  and  almost  painful  to  try  to  look  at  it  from 
any  other  standpoint.  We  can  only  say  that,  to  a  careful 
and  intelligent  student,  the  theory  of  the  Mosaic  author- 
ship of  the  whole  Pentateuch  involves  innumerable 
difficulties  which  have  to  be  met  by  complicated  and 
disingenuous  explanations.  But  the  difficulty  is  partly 
real ;  the  Pentateuch  is  the  product  of  the  influence  of 
Revelation  on  the  life  and  thought  and  religion  of  Israel 
for  many  centuries.  It  is  only  natural  that  the  history  of 
this  long  process  should  be  complicated. 

4.    The  Traditions  and  Documents  from 
which  GENESIS  was  Compiled. 

(a)  Introductory.  We  propose  here  to  give  some  fuller 
account  of  the  sources  mentioned  in  the  previous  section. 
We  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  refer  further  to 
Deuteronomy,  because  no  portion  of  that  document  is 
included  in  Genesis ;  but  additions  may  have  been  made 
by  editors  writing  under  the  influence  of  Deuteronomy . 
We  take  first  the  early  traditions  (b) — (/). 

(b)  Babylonian  Sources  (Hammurabi,  &c).  In  these 
ancient  stories  we  catch  the  far-off  echoes  of  the  thought 
and  passion  and  action  of  the  life  of  many  thousands  of 
years  ago.  It  was  a  time  when  heaven  and  earth  seemed 
nearer  than  they  do  to-day ;  when  it  seemed  no  incredible 
thing  that  man  should  meet  with  God  walking  in  His 
garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day.  Hence  we  find  in  strange 
combinations  the  figures  of  Bedouin  Sheikhs,  mighty  and 
warlike  kings,  angels,  and  even  of  Yahweh  Himself,  the 
God  of  Israel.  We  have  learnt  of  late  that  Genesis  in- 
cludes traces  of  even  more  primitive  ideas  of  Nature,  and 
man,  and  God ;  reminiscences  of  a  fantastic  mythology, 
in  which  gods  and  demi-gods,  heroes  and  men,  trees  and 
stones,  rivers  and  springs  of  water,  the  powers  of  Nature  and 
the  heavenly  bodies  were  mingled  in  a  strange  confusion. 
Similarly,  the  technical  terms  of  the  Christian  Church 
include  reminiscences  of  Paganism,  and  the  most  sacred 


INTRODUCTION  17 

day  of  the  calendar,  Good  Friday,  is  named  after  the 
heathen  goddess  Freya. 

Amongst  the  ultimate  sources  of  Genesis  we  must  reckon 
the  primitive  Semitic  stories  of  the  origin  of  the  world 
and  other  traditions.  These  are  now  known  to  us  from 
the  documents  which  have  been,  and  are  being,  dug  up 
from  buried  libraries  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia.  We  call 
them  documents,  but  their  form  is  quite  different  from 
that  of  modern  writings.  There  are  tablets,  bricks, 
cylinders  of  baked  clay,  wall-panels,  and  the  bases  and 
surfaces  of  statues,  inscribed  with  those  curious  com- 
binations of  arrowheads  known  as  the  cuneiform  character. 
In  these  we  may  still  read  the  ancient  Babylonian  versions 
of  the  stories  of  the  Creation,  the  Flood,  and  the  long-lived 
heroes  who  came  before  the  Flood.  Here,  too,  we  find 
names  of  ancient  kings  who  are  identified  with  Amraphel 
and  his  allies,  of  whom  we  read  in  chapter  xiv. 

We  do  not  know  exactly  how  the  Biblical  stories  are 
connected  with  the  Babylonian  traditions.  We  know 
that  Palestine  and  the  rest  of  Western  Asia  was  under 
the  influence  of  Babylon  from  very  early  times.  The 
numerous  inscriptions  of  Hammurabi,  king  of  Babylon, 
probably  Amraphel,  show  that  about  B.  c.  2250  the  suze- 
rainty of  Babylon  extended  to  the  Mediterranean. 

Later  on  the  recent  discovery  of  a  number  of  cuneiform 
tablets1,  from  the  archives  of  the  Egyptian  Foreign  Office 
of  about  B.C.  1400,  show  that  the  Babylonian  language 
and  character  were  used  in  the  diplomatic  correspondence 
between  Egypt  and  the  states  of  Western  Asia ;  and 
that  at  that  time  there  was  constant  commercial  and 
diplomatic  intercourse  between  Egypt  and  Babylon,  pass- 
ing through  or  along  the  borders  of  Palestine.  Moreover, 
even  the  letters  sent  by  Canaanite  tributary  princes  to 
their  Egyptian  suzerain  are  written  in  Babylonian.  Again, 
from  about  B.  c.  900  to  605  the  influence  of  Assyria  was 

1  The  Amarna  Tablets. 
C 


18  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

dominant  in  Western  Asia,  and  the  Assyrian  civilization 
was  practically  the  same  as  that  of  Babylonia,  and  Babylon 
during  this  period  was  a  dependency  of  Assyria.  From 
B.C.  606  to  538  Babylon  again  held  the  supremacy  of 
Western  Asia,  and  during  this  period  the  flower  of  the 
Jewish  people  were  carried  captive  to  Babylon.  Although 
at  the  end  of  this  period  Persia  wrested  the  supremacy 
from  Babylon,  that  great  city  still  remained  for  centuries 
a  centre  of  culture  and  religion,  and  one  of  the  capitals 
of  the  Persian  Empire.  During  all  this  period  there  was 
an  influential  Jewish  colony  at  Babylon.  Doubtless,  if 
our  information  were  more  complete,  we  could  trace  a 
continuous  Babylonian  influence  in  Palestine  from  the 
earliest  times  to  the  Reforms  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah1. 
It  does  not  follow  that  the  Biblical  stories  were  derived 
from  any  of  the  cuneiform  documents  now  known  to  us. 
Gen.  i-x  and  the  Babylonian  narratives  may  be  indepen- 
dent developments  of  primitive  Semitic  traditions ;  or, 
again,  the  Israelites  may  in  the  first  instance  have  derived 
these  traditions  from  the  Canaanites  2.  But  the  intercourse 
of  Babylon  with  Palestine  shows  that  the  Israelite  narra- 
tives may  have  been  again  and  again  revised  and  corrected 
through  the  influence  of  Babylonian  religion  and  literature. 
Moreover,  since  the  Priestly  Document3  was  compiled 
during  and  after  the  Exile  by  Jews  living  in  Babylon,  we 
should  expect  to  find  in  it  traces  of  the  study  of  Babylonian 
literature  extant  at  that  time.  Doubtless  such  study  is 
the  cause  of  some  of  the  parallels  between  the  Priestly  and 
Babylonian  stories  of  the  Creation  and  the  Flood ;  and 
it  is  possible  that  some  of  the  resemblances  between 
the  Priestly  Laws  and  the  Code  of  Hammurabi  *  may  be 
due  to  Jewish  research  during  and  after  the  Exile.  In 
the  same  way  the  narrative  of  Abraham  and  Amraphel 
(Hammurabi)   in   chapter  xiv  may  be  partly  based  on 

1  B.C.  444.  2  See  p.  21.  3  See  pp.  34 ff. 

4  A   collection   of  over   three   hundred  laws  with  a  long 
preamble,  inscribed  on  a  great  block  of  black  marble. 


INTRODUCTION  19 

information  derived  from  Babylon,  possibly  by  Jews  of 
the  Captivity. 

The  extent  of  Babylonian  influence  on  Israel  is  matter 
of  controversy  ;  even  the  name  and  worship  of  Yahweh 
are  said  to  have  been  derived  from  Babylon.  Recently 
a  distinguished  Assyriologist,  Prof.  Friedrich  Delitzsch, 
in  two  famous  lectures  before  the  German  Emperor, 
insisted  on  the  debt  of  Israel  to  Babylon,  and  maintained 
that  because  of  this  indebtedness,  and  for  other  reasons, 
the  O.T.  is  not  a  revelation.  We  should  be  inclined  to 
draw  the  opposite  conclusion.  Consider  the  enormous 
prestige  of  Babylon,  the  venerable  antiquity  of  its  tradi- 
tions, its  imperial  power  and  splendour,  its  advanced 
civilization,  its  stately  temples  and  magnificent  ritual. 
We  might  have  expected  that  the  Jews  would  be  over- 
whelmed by  such  influences,  that  they  would  have  been 
dazzled  and  led  astray.  No  doubt  many  lost  faith  in 
Yahweh,  abjured  their  nationality,  and  became  merged 
in  the  surrounding  heathenism.  But  read  the  Priestly 
account  of  the  Creation  \  and  note  the  wonderful  spiritual 
discrimination  and  insight  with  which  the  writer  uses  the 
traditional  framework  to  express  the  most  sublime  truths. 
Is  there  not  here  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit, 
all  the  more  manifest  because  it  overcomes  opposing 
forces  ? 

(c)  Egyptian  Sources  {the  Story  of  Joseph).  The 
influence  of  Egypt  in  Palestine  was  constant  and  power- 
ful;  but  the  prophets  who  sympathized  with  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel  regarded  the  Egyptian  influence 
as  corrupt  both  in  politics  and  religion.  The  authors  and 
editors  of  the  Pentateuch  were  of  one  mind  with  these 
prophets,  so  that  they  made  little  use  of  Egyptian  sources. 
But  it  seems  probable  that  the  story  of  Joseph  is  partly 
derived  from  an  Egyptian  narrative 2. 

(d)  Stories  from  the  Sanctuaries.     Many  of  the  narra- 

1  Gen.  i.  1— ii.  4*.         2  See  notes  on  xxxvii,  xxxix-xl. 
C  2 


20  THE   BOOK   OF  GENESIS 

lives  are  connected  with  the  great  Israelite  sanctuaries 
or  high  places,  the  oak  of  Moreh  by  Shechem1,  Bethel2, 
Manure  by  Hebron3,  Jerusalem4,  Beer-lahai-roi 5,  Beer- 
sheba6,  and  Gilead7.  As  they  describe  how  the  Patri- 
archs founded  the  sanctuaries,  or  visited  them,  or 
endowed  them  with  tithes,  we  may  naturally  suppose  that 
the  stories  were  preserved  at  these  places ;  and  that  the 
authors  of  the  Primitive  and  Elohistic  Documents  derived 
them  from  the  priests,  just  as  Herodotus  gathered  informa- 
tion from  the  priests  in  Egypt  and  Babylon. 

(e)  Ancient  Lyrics.  The  Pentateuch  contains  many 
poems  ;  and  several  of  these  are  in  Genesis.  In  addition 
to  smaller  fragments  there  are  the  Sword  Song  of  Lamech 8, 
Noah's  Oracle  on  his  Sons 9,  the  Blessings  of  Isaac  on 
Jacob  and  Esau10,  and  the  Blessing  of  Jacob11.  These 
poems  were  not  composed  by  the  authors  of  the  four  main 
documents  used  in  the  Pentateuch 12,  but  are  older  than 
any  of  these  documents.  Perhaps  originally  they  were 
preserved  in  the  memories  and  on  the  lips  of  the  people, 
and  then  written  down,  either  separately  or  in  collections 
of  poems.  The  authors  of  the  documents  may  thus  have 
obtained  the  poems  from  oral  tradition,  or  from  separate 
writings,  or  from  collections.  Some  poems  in  other  books 
of  the  Pentateuch,  and  in  Joshua  and  Samuel,  &c.,  are 


1  Gen.  xii.  6  (Abram)  ;  xxxiii.  18,  xxxv.  4  (Jacob)  ;  xxxvii.  12 
(Joseph;  :  cf.  Deut.  xi.  30,  xxvii.  4  ;  Joshua  xxiv.  26  ;  Judges 
ix.  4. 

2  Gen.  xii.  8,  xiii.  3,  4  (Abram^)  ;  xxviii.  19,  xxxi.  13,  xxxv. 
1-15  (Jacob)  :  cf.  1  Kings  xii.  29  ;  Hos.  iv.  15,  x.  15  ;  Amos 
iii.  14,  iv.  4,  v.  5f.,  vii.  10.  13. 

3  Gen.  xiii.  18,  xviii.  1,  xxiii.  19,  xxv.  9  (Abraham)  ;  xxxv. 
27  (Isaac  and  Jacob). 

4  Gen.  xiv.  18. 

5  Gen.  xvi.  14  (Hagarand  Ishmael);  xxiv.  62,  xxv.  11  (Isaac). 

6  Gen.  xxi.  33,  xxii.  19  (Abraham)  ;  xxvi.  33  (Isaac)  ;  xlvi.  1 
(Israel)  :  cf.  Amos  v.  5. 

7  Gen.  xxxi.  47-52  ;  Joshua  xxii.  10  :  cf.  Hos.  xii.  n. 


ix.  25-27. 


xlix.  1-27.  V2  See  pp.  22  ff. 


INTRODUCTION  21 

expressly  said  to  be  taken  from  older  collections,  e.g. 
Num.  xxi.  14,  15  from  the  Book  of  the  Wars  of  Yahweh\ 
Joshua  x.  12  (the  Sun  and  Moon  standing  still),  2  Sam. 
i.  i8ff.  (David's  Lament  over  Saul  and  Jonathan), 
and,  according  to  the  LXX,  1  Kings  viii.  12  from  the 
Book  of  Jashar.  Possibly  some  or  all  of  the  poems  in 
Genesis  are  derived  from  one  or  other  of  these  two 
collections ;  but  if  poems  were  taken  from  the  same  col- 
lections, there  is  no  obvious  reason  why  the  collection 
should  be  named  in  some  instances  and  not  in  others. 

(/)  Other  Ancient  Traditions.  We  have  spoken  of 
traditions  derived  from  Babylon,  of  others  preserved  at 
the  various  sanctuaries,  and  also  of  poems  current  amongst 
the  ancient  Israelites.  No  doubt  there  were  other  tradi- 
tions. Many  of  the  narratives  in  Genesis  describe  scenes 
of  nomad  life  ;  it  is  held  by  some  that  the  Israelites  looked 
back  upon  the  nomad  period  of  their  history  as  a  Golden 
Age  of  primitive  virtue,  prosperity,  and  happiness  ;  and 
that  in  later  generations  the  stories  told  long  ago  round 
the  camp-fires  of  the  wandering  tribes  were  still  told  by 
mothers  to  their  children,  and  repeated  amongst  the 
maidens  at  the  well,  by  the  guests  at  rustic  merry-makings, 
and  in  the  evening  gatherings  of  the  peasants  when  the 
day's  work  was  clone.  Such  story-telling  is  still  a  promi- 
nent feature  of  social  gatherings  in  the  East,  especially 
amongst  the  Bedouin.  We  must  remember,  however, 
that  the  Israelites  on  the  southern  and  eastern  border 
lands  either  retained  nomad  habits,  or  were  in  close  and 
constant  intercourse  with  nomads,  so  that  these  stories 
might  be  handed  down  by  a  continuous  tradition  amongst 
nomad  tribes.  It  is  also  probable  that  the  Israelites 
might  borrow  or  adapt  traditions  of  their  other  neigh- 
bours, e.g.  the  Phoenicians,  Philistines, Ammon,  Moab, and 
Edom.  The  authors  of  the  documents  would  find  these 
various  traditions— like  the  poems— current  in  writing 
or  otherwise,  and  would  embody,  them  in  their  works. 


22  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

Primitive  Document  (J). 

(a)  Characteristics.  As  a  rule  the  most  interesting 
stones  have  been  taken  from  this  document ;  they  are 
told  in  a  simple,  childlike  fashion,  and  the  author  does 
not  allow  himself  to  be  hampered  by  the  niceties  of  exact 
theology.  Thus  he,  and  he  alone,  uses  the  name  Yahweh 
in  Genesis,  without  regard  to  the  time  when  that  name 
was  first  revealed  to  Israel.  Yahweh,  too,  is  constantly 
spoken  of  as  if  He  were  a  man.  He  moulds  the  first  man 
and  the  first  animals  out  of  clay,  as  a  potter  might  mould 
a  vessel ;  He  walks  in  the  garden  He  has  planted  ;  He 
comes  down  from  heaven  to  see  what  the  builders  of 
Babel  are  doing;  and  He  accepts  the  hospitality  of 
Abraham,  as  any  traveller  might  make  himself  at  home  in 
the  tent  of  a  Bedouin  sheikh.  Again,  he  delights  to  tell 
us  how  people  and  places  came  to  have  their  names, 
though  his  explanations  are  usually  rather  plays  upon 
words  than  serious  derivations.  Man  is  called  adam 
because  he  was  made  out  of  the  soil,  adamah  ;  Abraham 
is  the  father,  ab,  of  many  nations,  hamon ? ;  and  the  names 
of  the  twelve  tribes  must  each  have  some  suggestive 
explanation.  A  consonant  more  or  less  does  not  matter 
in  these  popular  epigrams.  The  author  takes  a  frank 
interest  in  the  ancient  sanctuaries,  the  high  places,  with 
their  sacred  trees,  and  tells  us,  for  instance,  how  Abraham 
set  up  altars  by  the  terebinth  at  Shechem 2,  on  the  hill 
near  Bethel 3,  by  the  terebinths  at  Mamre  near  Hebron  % 
and  how  the  sacred  tamarisk  at  Beer-sheba  had  been 
planted  by  him 5. 

He  has  a  lively  style,  and  a  varied  and  vivid  vocabulary. 
A  few  of  his  peculiarities  may  be  cited :  Israel  is  more 
often  used  than  Jacob,  the  inhabitants  of  Palestine  are 
called  Canaanites. 

1  A  multitude.  2  Gen.  xii.  6. 

3  Gen.  xii.  8.  *  Gen.  xiii.  18. 

5  Gen.  xxi.  33. 


INTRODUCTION  23 

The  Primitive  Document 1  is  now  only  known  to  us  as 
a  series  of  chapters,  paragraphs,  and  sentences  scattered 
through  the  Pentateuch,  Joshua,  and.  Judges,  and  perhaps 
also  Samuel,  or  even  the  earlier  part  of  Kings.  But 
these  disjecta  membra,  together  with  others  which  have 
been  lost,  once  formed  a  continuous  narrative  in  a  small 
roll  or  book  2.  This  work  may  be  called  a  history,  first  of 
mankind  and  then  of  Israel,  from  the  Creation  to  the 
conquest  of  Canaan,  or  even  to  the  death  of  David,  or 
perhaps  even  to  the  revolt  of  the  Ten  Tribes3.  It  was, 
however,  a  continuous  history  only  in  the  sense  that  the 
different  sections  were  written  one  after  another  in  the 
same  book.  The  author  was  more  anxious  to  preserve 
interesting  and  instructive  stories  than  to  compose  a  con- 
nected and  consistent  narrative.  His  work  is  a  collection 
of  anecdotes  arranged  roughly  in  chronological  order. 
Most  of  them  were  borrowed  with  more  or  less  alter- 
ation from  older  writings,  and  the  accounts  of  the  doings 
of  the  Patriarchs  at  the  ancient  high  places  near  Shechem, 
Hebron,  Bethel,  and  Beer-sheba  were  doubtless  derived 
from  the  priests  of  these  sanctuaries. 

There  seem  to  have  been  two  chief  editions  of  this 
work,  an  earlier  edition 4,  compiled  about  B.C."  850,  and 
a  later  edition  with  many  additions5,  about  B.C.  700-650, 
i.  e.  between  the  time  of  Hezekiah  and  Josiah. 

The  sympathetic  interest  taken  in  the  high  places 
with  their  sacred  trees  shows  that  the  author  wrote  before 
the  great  reform  of  Israelite  worship  in  the  time  of  Josiah, 
when  the  outlying  sanctuaries  were  suppressed,  sacrifice 
was  confined  to  the  one  temple  at  Jerusalem,  and  the 
ritual  was  purged  of  many  superstitious  practices.     Yet 

1  The  symbol  for  which  is  J.  The  document  is  often  styled 
the  Yahwistic  (or  Jehovistic)  Document. 

2  Cf.  p.  30. 

3  See  Skinner,  i  Kings  xii  (Century  Bible). 

4  Denoted  by  the  symbol  J1. 

5  These  additions  are  denoted  by  the  symbol  Ja. 


24  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

the  narratives  set  forth  and  illustrate  a  faith  in  one  Holy 
God,  who  punishes  sin  and  rewards  righteousness.  The 
author's  unsophisticated  views  as  to  doctrines  allow  him 
to  speak  of  Yahweh  as  if  He  were  a  man,  and  often 
appeared  on  earth  as  a  man  amongst  men,  working  for 
them,  talking  to  them,  and  eating  with  them.  This  way 
of  writing  sets  forth  most  vividly  the  nearness  of  the 
Divine  Presence,  the  keen  interest  which  God  takes  in 
human  affairs,  and  the  reality  of  an  intimate  fellowship 
between  God  and  man.  These  same  truths  were  more 
fully  revealed  in  the  life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  so  that 
primitive  tradition  partly  anticipated  the  Gospel  history 
of  the  Incarnation. 

(b)  Names  and  Symbols.  We  have  called  this  docu- 
ment tthe  Primitive  Document,  because  it  preserves  the 
ancient  traditions  in  a  more  primitive  form  than  do  the 
other  sources  of  the  Pentateuch.  It  is  probably  also  older 
than  the  Elohistic  Document.  The  Primitive  and  Elohistic 
Documents  together  are  often  called  the  PxQphetic 
Documents,  because  they  are  held  to  have  been  compiled 
under  the  influence  of  the  prophets  of  the  eighth  century. 
The  Primitive  Document  is  usually  called  the  Yahzvistic 
(or  Jehovistic)  Document,  and  its  author  the  Yahwist  (or 
Jehovist),  because  it  is  the  only  document  which  uses  the 
Divine  Name  Yahweh  (Jehovah)  in  Genesis.  The  symbol 
used  to  denote  it  is  J  \ 

(c)  Contents.  The  portions  of  the  Primitive  Document 
which  are  included  in  Genesis,  i.e.  those  referring  to 
the  period  from  the  Creation  to  the  death  of  Joseph,  may 
be  summarized  thus  :  — 

ii.  4^-25.  The  Creation.  When  the  world  was  a 
barren  waste  Yahweh 2  moulded  a  man  of  the  clay  and 
breathed  into  him  the  breath  of  life,  so  that  he  became 
alive.     He  planted  a  garden,  and  placed  him  in  it  to  keep 

1  C  has  also  been  used  (by  Dillmann),  and  the  different 
strata  (see  p.  13)  in  it  have  been  denoted  by  J1,  Ja,  J',  &c. 

2  See  note  on  ii.  4 


INTRODUCTION  25 

it ;  but  forbade  his  eating  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  To  provide  the  man  with 
a  companion  Yahweh  formed  all  the  different  kinds  of 
animals,  but  none  of  them  were  suitable ;  so  that  at  last 
Yahweh  threw  the  man  into  a  trance  and  shaped  a 
woman  out  of  one  of  his  ribs.  This  was  the  origin  of  mar- 
riage. In  those  first  days  the  man  and  woman  were 
naked,  and  not  ashamed. 

iii.  The  Fall.  Tempted  by  the  Serpent  the  man  and 
woman  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit ;  they  perceive  their 
nakedness  and  hide  themselves.  Yahweh  calls  them 
into  His  presence ;  elicits  a  confession,  inflicts  penalties 
on  the  man,  the  woman,  and  the  Serpent ;  and  turns  the 
man  and  the  woman  out  of  the  garden. 

iv.  1-16.  Cam  and  Abel.  Eve,  the  woman,  bears 
Cain  and  Abel.  When  they  are  grown  up  Cain  is  jealous, 
because  Yahweh  favours  Abel.  Cain  murders  Abel. 
Yahweh  punishes  him  by  driving  him  out  as  an  exile,  but 
sets  a  mark  on  him  that  no  one  shall  kill  him. 

iv.  17-24.  The  Beginnings  of  Civilisation.  Genealogy 
from  Cain  to  Lamech.  Lamech  institutes  the  practice  of 
marrying  two  wives.  His  sons  found  the  various  arts 
of  primitive  civilization.     Lamech's  song  of  triumph. 

iv.  25,  26.  Adam,  Seth,  Enoch.  Men  begin  to  worship 
Yahweh. 

vi.  1-4.   The  sons  of  God  marry  the  daughters  of  men. 

vii.  5 — viii.  22  (portions  of1).  The  Flood.  Yahweh 
purposes  to  destroy  all  living  creatures  because  of  the 
wickedness  of  men ;  but  He  bids  Noah  save  himself  and 
his  family,  seven  a  of  each  clean  animal,  and  two  of  each 
unclean  animal  in  an  Ark.  Noah  obeys.  After  seven 
days  there  comes  a  flood  caused  by  forty  days'  rain. 
Yahweh  shuts  up  Noah  in  the  Ark.     All  living  beings  are 

1  See  Analysis,  p.  53.       2  See  notes  on  this  section. 


26  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

drowned  except  those  in  the  Ark.  Yahweh  stops  the 
rain,  and  the  waters  fall.  Forty  days  later  Noah  sends 
out  first  the  raven  and  then  the  dove  twice,  at  intervals  of 
seven  days.  When  the  dove  does  not  return  Noah 
removes  the  covering  of  the  Ark  and  sees  that  the  ground 
is  dry.  Noah  [leaves  the  Ark  1],  and  offers  a  sacrifice  to 
Yahweh,  who  promises  that  He  will  not  again  destroy 
every  living  thing,  or  interrupt  the  regular  course  of  the 
seasons. 

ix.  18,  19.  The  re-peopling  of  the  Earth  by  Noah's 
three  sons  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth. 

ix.  20-27.  The  Curse  of  Canaan.  Noah  institutes  the 
cultivation  of  the  vine  and  the  making  of  wine.  He  gets 
drunk  and  exposes  himself.  Shem  and  Japheth  show 
a  consideration  for  him  which  Ham  had  neglected ;  they 
are  blessed  and  he  is  cursed. 

x.  (Portions  of2).  The  Origin  of  the  Nations.  A  dis- 
tribution of  the  peoples  of  the  Hebrew  world  between  the 
three  sons  of  Noah. 

xi.  1-9.  The  Tower  of  Babel.  Mankind,  still  one 
community,  speaking  one  language,  propose  to  build 
a  city  and  a  tower  that  they  may  not  be  separated. 
Yahweh  makes  them  speak  different  languages,  so  that 
they  cannot  understand  one  another,  and  scatters  them 
over  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Abram  and  Lot.  [Terah,  Abram's  father,  and  his 
family  leave  Ur  \] 

xi.  28-30,  xii.  1-4%  6-20.  Abram,  Sarai  [and  Lot?1] 
migrate  from  Haran  to  Canaan.  Abram  builds  altars  at 
Shechem  and  Bethel.  On  account  of  a  famine  he  visits 
Egypt  ;  Sarai,  supposed,  on  his  own  showing,  to  be  his 
sister,  is  taken  into  Pharaoh's  harem ;  but  is  released  on 
account  of  the  plagues  sent  by  Yahweh.  Abram  is  dis- 
missed from  Egypt. 

1  See  Remark,  p.  52. 

a  See  Analysis,  Table  B,  p.  53  ;  cf.  p.  38. 


INTRODUCTION  27 

xiii.  1-5,  7-1  ia,  12-18.  Abram  and  Lot  come  to 
Bethel,  and  separate  because  their  herdmen  quarrel. 
Lot  settles  at  Sodom  ;  Abram  in  Canaan,  which  Yahvveh 
promises  to  his  seed.     He  builds  an  altar  at  Hebron. 

xv.  (Portions  of1).  Yahweh  promises  Abram  an  heir, 
and  covenants  to  give  Canaan  to  his  seed. 

xvi.  ib,  2,  4-14.  Sarai,  being  childless,  gives  Hagar  to 
Abram  ;  but  when  she  sees  that  Hagar  is  pregnant  she 
ill-treats  her.  Hagar  runs  away  (but  is  sent  back  by  an 
angel2) ;    Ishmael  is  born. 

xviii-xix. 3  Yahweh  and  two  angels  appear  in  the  form 
of  men  to  Abraham  at  Mamre,  and  are  hospitably  enter- 
tained by  him.  Yahweh  announces  that  Sarah  shall  bear 
a  son  ;  she  laughs  incredulously,  and  is  rebuked.  Yahweh 
announces  to  Abraham  the  doom  of  Sodom  ;  but  promises, 
at  his  intercession,  that  the  city  shall  be  spared  if  ten 
righteous  men  are  found  in  it.  The  two  angels  reach 
Sodom,  and  are  hospitably  entertained  by  Lot,  who  protects 
them  from  the  men  of  Sodom.  They  tell  Lot  of  the 
coming  doom  of  the  city,  and  with  difficulty  induce  him 
to  flee  with  his  family.  He  is  allowed  to  take  refuge  in 
Zoar,  and  Yahweh  destroys  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
with  fire  from  heaven.  Lot's  wife  looks  back,  and  is 
turned  into  a  pillar  of  salt.  Lot  and  his  daughters  flee 
from  Zoar  to  a  cave,  and  Lot  becomes  the  father  of  Moab 
and  Ammon  by  his  two  daughters. 

Abraham  and  Isaac,  xxi.  1-7  \  Isaac  is  born.  xxi. 
22-34  4.  Abraham  worships  Yahweh  at  Beer-sheba,  and 
makes  a  covenant  with  Abimelech.  xxii.  20-24.  Abraham 
hears  that  his  brother  Nahor  has  children  and  grand- 
children, one  of  the  latter  being  Rebekah.  xxi  v.  Abraham 
sends  his  steward  Eliezer  to  his  kinsfolk  at  Haran  to 
fetch  a  wife  for  Isaac.  He  is  divinely  led  to  choose 
Rebekah,    who    returns    with    him    and    marries    Isaac, 


See  Analysis,  Table  B.  2  Cf.  notes  on  this  passage. 

Except  xix.  29.  *  Parts  of  these  sections. 


28  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

[Abraham  having  died  during  the  servant's  absence1]. 
xxv.  1-6  (out  of  place,  or  addition).  Abraham's  second 
wife,  Keturah,  and  family ;  the  provision  made  for  them 
and  Ishmael.  lib,  18.  The  homes  of  Isaac  and  Ishmael. 
Isaac,  Jacob,  a?td  Esau.  xxv.  21-26%  27-34.  Esau  and 
Jacob  are  born ;  Esau  sells  his  birthright  to  Jacob  for 
bread  and  lentil-soup.  xxvi.  1-33.  Isaac  sojourns  at  Gerar, 
and  is  blessed  by  Yahweh.  He  makes  Rebekah  pass  as 
his  sister,  but  the  fraud  is  discovered.  His  herdmen  have 
disputes  with  the  Philistines  at  Gerar  as  to  the  wells ;  but 
the  dispute  is  ended  by  a  covenant  confirmed  by  an  oath  with 
the  king,  Abimelech,  hence  the  place  where  the  covenant  was 
made  is  called  Beer-sheba,  i.  e.  Well  of  the  Oath,  xxvii. 
I-45  2.  Jacob  and  Rebekah  induce  Isaac  to  bless  Jacob, 
under  the  impression  that  he  is  blessing  Esau.  He  subse- 
quently blesses  Esau,  xxviii.  10-22 2.  Jacob  flees  to  Haran ; 
on  his  way  he  lights,  without  knowing  it,  on  a  holy  place. 
Yahweh  appears  to  him  and  blesses  him.  He  calls  the 
place  Beth-el.  xxix,  xxx. 2  Jacob  sojourns  with  Laban  at 
Haran ;  serves  him  fourteen  years  for  Rachel  and 
Leah,  by  whom  and  their  handmaids  Bilhah  and  Zilpah, 
he  has  eleven  sons  and  one  daughter.  He  afterwards 
serves  Laban  for  a  share  of  the  flock,  xxxi.  1 — xxxii.  2  3. 
Jacob  flees  from  Haran  ;  Laban  overtakes  him  in  Gilead, 
and  they  make  a  covenant,  xxxii.  3 — xxxiii.  17*.  Jacob 
prepares  to  meet  Esau ;  at  Peniel  he  wrestles  with  a 
supernatural  being  and  receives  the  name  Israel.  Jacob 
and  Esau  meet  and  are  reconciled  ;  they  separate,  Jacob 
goes  to  Succoth,  Esau  to  Mount  Seir.  [xxxiii.  18— xxxiv. 
31  s.  Jacob  at  Shechem.  Episode  of  Dinah 5  ?]  xxxv.  16-22. 
Birth  of  Benjamin  and  death  of  Rachel.  Reuben's  sin. 
xxxvi.  21-39.  The  kings  of  Edom. 
Jacob  and  Joseph,    xxxvii. 3    Joseph  rouses  his  brothers' 


1  See  on  xxiv.  63.  2  Parts  of. 

3  Portions,  see  Table  B.  4  Mostly. 

5  It  is  not  certain  that  J  had  a  version  of  this  story. 


INTRODUCTION  29 

hatred  by  telling  tales ;  but  for  Judah '  they  would  have 
slain  him  ;  they  sell  him  to  Ishmaelites.  xxxviii.  Tamar, 
the  wife  of  Judah's  son  Er,  becomes  by  a  stratagem  the 
mother  of  Perez  and  Zerah  by  Judah.  xxxix.  Joseph  is 
sold  to  an  Egyptian 2,  whom  he  serves  with  success  and 
acceptance.  His  master's  wife  tempts  him  ;  and,  on  his 
refusal,  gets  him  imprisoned  on  a  false  charge  of  attempted 
outrage,  xli.  ■  [4]  He  is  released,  and  made  vizier  of  Egypt ; 
provides  corn  for  a  famine,  and  marries  the  daughter  of 
Poti-phera,  the  priest  of  On  [8].  xlii. 2  Joseph's  brethren 
come  to  Egypt  to  buy  corn,  and  meet  Joseph,  xliii. 6  Judah 
induces  Israel  to  let  them  go  to  Egypt  again  and  take 
Benjamin.  They  go  ;  Joseph  entertains  them  at  a  feast, 
xliv.  A  cup  is  hidden  in  Benjamin's  sack ;  he  is  charged 
with  stealing  it,  and  Joseph  proposes  to  keep  him  as 
a  slave.  Judah  intercedes,  xlv. 3  Joseph  makes  himself 
known,  and  sends  for  his  father,  xlvi.  1-5 3.  Israel  goes 
down  to  Egypt,  xlvi.  28— xlvii.  4,  6b.  Joseph  meets  him ; 
introduces  five  of  the  brethren  to  Pharaoh  ;  they  obtain 
a  settlement  in  Goshen  and  the  superintendentship  of 
the  royal  cattle,  xlvii.  12-27%  28-31.  During  the  famine 
Joseph  provides  food  for  his  kinsfolk,  and  sells  corn  to 
the  Egyptians.  He  makes  a  new  settlement  of  the  land 
of  Egypt.  Joseph  promises  to  bury  Israel  in  Canaan, 
xlviii. 3  Israel  adopts  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  and  bestows 
his  chief  blessing  on  the  younger,  Ephraim.  xlix.  1-27, 
33b.  Israel  blesses  his  twelve  sons,  and  dies.  1.  1-11,  14. 
Joseph  buries  Israel  in  Canaan. 


1  See  note  on  xxxvii.  21. 

2  The  reference  to  Potiphar  is  inserted  by  an  editor. 
s  Portions. 

♦  Perhaps  J  had  also  an  account  of  Pharaoh's  dream  ;  see 
on  xli. 

8  Probably  J  also  mentioned  the  births  of  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh. 

6  Mostly. 


30  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

Elohistic  Document  (E). 
(a)  Characteristics.  The  original  edition  x  of  this  docu- 
ment is  generally  held  to  have  been  compiled  in  the 
Northern  Kingdom  about  B.C.  750,  shortly  before  the 
fall  of  Samaria.  Its  author  was,  therefore,  a  contem- 
porary, perhaps  an  elder  contemporary,  of  Hosea,  Amos, 
Isaiah,  and  Micah,  and  may  have  written  under  Jero- 
boam II  of  Israel  and  Uzziah  of  Judah.  This  document, 
too2,  is  now  only  known  by  the  portions  preserved  in  the 
Pentateuch  and  other  historical  books  ;  but  in  the  closing 
days  of  the  Jewish  Monarchy  it  was  current  as  a  small 
book  or  pamphlet,  no  doubt  in  the  form  of  a  roll.  It 
further  resembles  the  Primitive  Document  in  being  a  col- 
lection of  narratives  and  other  material  which  the  author 
or  editor  obtained  from  older  books  or  from  oral  tradition. 
The  Elohist,  however,  differs  in  some  respects  from  the 
author  of  the  Primitive  Document.  He  is  less  of  an 
antiquarian  and  more  of  a  preacher  ;  he  is  less  interested 
in  the  poetry  and  dramatic  force  of  the  popular  narratives, 
and  more  anxious  about  their  religious  influence.  He 
does  not  merely  bring  out  what  is  best  in  the  old, faith, 
but,  like  Isaiah  and  the  prophets  of  the  eighth  century, 
he  is.  moved  by  a  flowing  tide  of  spiritual  life,  thought, 
and  fervour;   he  lived  in  a  time  when  old  things  were 

1  The  Elohistic  Document,  as  it  was  used  for  the  compilation 
of  the  Pentateuch,  &c.  (see  p.  9),  is  generally  held  to  have 
been  a  revised  and  enlarged  edition  of  an  earlier  work  (E1)  ;  it 
is  fairly  certain  this  earlier  work  made  use  of  still  earlier  works. 
It  is  often  difficult  to  distinguish  with  certainty  and  accuracy 
between  (a)  these  very  early  works,  (b)  the  first  edition  (E1) 
of  our  work,  and  (c)  the  additions  (E2)  made  by  the  editor  of 
the  revised  and  enlarged  edition.  The  two  editions  E1  and  E1 
+  E2  are  so  similar  in  style,  spirit,  and  ideas,  that  what  is  said 
in  this  section  will,  for  the  most  part,  apply  indifferent^  to 
both  ;  but  is  written  with  special  reference  to  E1.     Cf.  p.  23. 

The  revised  Elohistic  Document  E  =  E1  +  E2  is  usually  dated 
about  b.  C650,  in  the  reign  of  Manasseh  of  Judah. 

'  Cf.  p.  23. 


INTRODUCTION  31 

passing  away  and  all  things  were  becoming  new.  But, 
like  all  men  who  live  in  such  a  time,  the  Elohist  does 
not  represent  the  new  dispensation,  but  the  transition 
from  the  new  to  the  old.  Both  consciously  and  uncon- 
sciously he  is  continually  taking  for  granted  the  faith,  the 
ideas,  the  language  in  which  he  was  trained,  even  when 
they  are  logically  inconsistent  with  the  new  truth  of  a 
higher  Revelation.  Thus  he  accepts  the  sacred  pillars1 
of  the  ancient  sanctuaries  as  perfectly  legitimate  2 ;  though 
a  later  legislation  denounced  these  pillars  as  superstitious 
relics  of  idolatry  8.  It  is  natural  that,  writing  in  a  transition 
period,  the  Elohist  should  so  adapt  the  ancient  stories 
that  they  may  serve  to  illustrate  new  truths.  The  name 
Yahweh  was  part  of  the  revelation  made  to  Israel  though 
Moses 4 ;  hence  the  Elohist  is  careful  not  to  use  this 
name  before  his  time.  Isaiah  and  the  prophets  denounced 
idolatry ;  and  the  Elohist  tells  us  how  Jacob  and  Joshua 
destroyed  idols  5.  He  tries  to  avoid  speaking  of  God  as 
a  man  ;  God  no  longer  walks,  talks,  and  eats  G  with  men, 
but  reveals  His  will  through  dreams7  and  by  voices  from 
heaven 8.  Moreover,  iPis  the  Elohist  who  sets  forth  the 
Divine  prohibition  of  the  sacrifice  of  children  in  the  story 
of  the  Offering  of  Isaac.  The  Elohist,  again,  shows  a 
special  moral  feeling  in  telling  how  a  patriarch's  wife 
came  to  be  taken  into  the  harem  of  a  Gentile  king.  The 
older  narratives 9  would  have  allowed  us  to  suppose  that 
the  patriarch  spoke  falsely  in  stating  that  his  wife  was 
his  sister,  but  the  Elohist  is  careful  to  tell  us  that  she 
'Was  his  /ia/f -sister10.  But  we  must  not  suppose  that  this 
writer's  anxiety  to  point  a  moral  makes  him  either  dry 
or  dull.  We  do  not  know  exactly  how  much  is  his  own 
and  how  much  he  borrowed  from  earlier  authorities  ;  but 


1  Maccebas.  2  Gen.  xxxv.  14  ;  Exod.  xxiv.  4. 

3  Exod.  xxiii.  24,  JE  ;  Deut.  vii.  5.  *  Exod.  iii.  15. 

5  Gen.  xxxv.  4  ;  Joshua  xxiv.  14. 

6  Cf.  p.  24.         7  Gen.  xx.  3.         6  Gen.  xxi.  17,  xxii.  11. 
9  Gen.  xii.  13,  xxvi.  7.  l"  Gen.  xx.  12. 


32  THE   BOOK   OF  GENESIS 

in  any  case  his  exquisite  literary  taste  is  shown  in  the 
beautiful  stories  of  the  Offering  of  Isaac,  Jacob  at  Beth-el, 
and  Joseph  in  Egypt. 

(b)  Names  and  Symbols.  The  Elohistic  Document 
is  so  called  because  its  author,  like  the  Priestly  Writer  \ 
held  the  theory  that  the  Divine  Name  Yahweh  was 
first  revealed  to  Moses  at  Sinai.  Hence  the  Elohist 
does  not  use  this  Name  in  Genesis,  but  the  Name 
Elohi?n, i  God.' 

At  one  time  the  Elohistic  and  Priestly  Documents, 
because  they  both  used  Elohim  and  avoided  Yahweh  in 
Genesis,  were  supposed  to  be  one  work,  and  were  called 
the  Elohist,  or  the  Grundschrift,  i.  e.  the  '  Fundamental 
Document.'  When  the  two  were  separated,  it  was  at 
first  supposed  that  our  Elohistic  Document  was  the  later, 
and  it  was  called  the  Later  or  Second  Elohist.  The 
Elohistic  and  the  Primitive  Documents  are  sometimes 
spoken  of  together  as  the  Prophetic  Documents*. 

The  usual  symbol  for  this  document  is  E ;  B  has  also 
been  used  (by  Dillmann),  and  the  different  strata  (see 
p.  30)  in  it  have  been  denoted  by  E1,  E2,  E3. 

(c)  Contents.  xv.  (A  few  fragments  of8).  God's 
Covenant  with  Abram. 

xx.  1— 17.  Abraham  at  Gerar.  Abraham  comes  to 
sojourn  in  Gerar.  Sarah,  supposed,  on  his  own  showing, 
to  be  his  sister,  is  taken  into  the  harem  of  the  king 
Abimelech,  but  is  released  on  account  of  the  remonstrance 
of  God,  and  the  plague  sent  by  Him4.  Abimelech 
compensates  Abraham,  and  invites  him  to  settle  in  his 
land.  In  response  to  Abraham's  prayer  the  plague  is 
removed.     [Birth  of  Isaac5.] 

xxi.  8-21.  Hagar  and  Ish?nael  driven  out.  At  the 
feast  made  at  the  weaning  of  Isaac,  Sarah  is  jealous  of 


1  Cf.  pp.  34  ff.  a  See  p.  24. 

8  See  Analysis,  Table  B,  and  cf.  p.  27. 

*  See  note  on  xx.  17,  18.  5  See  Remark,  p.  52. 


INTRODUCTION  33 

Ishmael,  and  demands  that  he  and  Hagar  shall  be  driven 
out.  Abraham,  by  God's  direction,  consents;  they  are 
sent  away,  and  Ishmael  is  on  the  point  of  dying  of  thirst 
when  God  shows  Hagar  a  well.  Ishmael  grows  up  in 
the  desert,  and  marries  an  Egyptian  wife. 

xxi.  22-24,  27,  31,  34.  The  Covenant  with  Abimelech. 
A  covenant  is  made,  confirmed  with  an  oath.  Hence  the 
well  was  called  Eeer-sheba  \ 

xxii.  1-13,  iQ.  The  offering  up  of  Isaac.  God  bids 
Abraham  offer  Isaac  as  a  sacrifice.  They  journey 
together  to  the  appointed  place ;  Abraham  builds  an 
altar,  places  Isaac  upon  it,  and  prepares  to  slay  him. 
An  angel  stays  his  hand,  and  he  offers  instead  a  ram 
he  sees  caught  in  a  neighbouring  thicket.  They  return 
to  Beer-sheba. 

xxvii.  1-45 2.  Jacob  and  Rebekah  induce  Isaac  to 
bless  Jacob,  under  the  impression  that  he  is  blessing 
Esau.  He  subsequently  blesses  Esau,  xxviii.  10-22 3. 
Jacob  flees  to  Haran ;  on  his  way  he  lights,  without 
knowing  it,  on  a  holy  place.  God  appears  to  him  and 
blesses  him.  He  calls  the  place  Beth-el,  and  promises  to 
pay  tithes,  xxix,  xxx.3  Jacob  sojourns  with  Laban  at 
Haran ;  serves  him  fourteen  years  for  Rachel  and  Leah, 
by  whom  and  their  handmaids  he  has  eleven  sons  and 
a  daughter.  He  afterwards  serves  for  a  share  of  the  flock. 
xxxi.  1 — xxxii.  23.  Jacob  flees  from  Laban;  Laban 
overtakes  him  at  Gilead  ;  they  make  a  covenant.  Jacob 
continues  his  journey,  and  meets  angels  at  Mahanaim. 
xxxii.  3 — xxxiii.  178.  Jacob's  wrestling;  his  new  name, 
Israel ;  his  reconciliation  with  Esau,  xxxiii.  18 — xxxiv.  31 4. 
Jacob  at  Shechem.  Episode  of  Dinah,  xxxv.  1-8  *,  14. 
Jacob  goes  to  Beth-el  and  fulfils  his  vow.  xxxv.  16-22  ? 
Birth  of  Benjamin,  and  death  of  Rachel ;    Reuben's  sin. 

1  Which  might  mean  either  'Well  of  the  Oath'  or  'Well  of 
the  Seven.' 

2  Parts  of.  s  Portions. 
4  In  pari,  see  Table  B. 


34  THE   BOOK   OF  GENESIS 

xxxvii.1  Joseph  rouses  his  brothers'  envy  by  dreams  of 
pre-eminence ;  but  for  Reuben  they  would  have  slain  him ; 
they  put  him  in  a  pit  from  which  he  is  taken  by  Midianites, 
who  sell  him  for  a  slave  in  Egypt  to  Potiphar,the  'captain  of 
the  guard.'  xl.  The  chief  butler  and  chief  baker  are  placed 
in  custody  of  the  captain  of  the  guard ;  Joseph  interprets 
their  dreams ;  the  chief  butler  is  restored  to  favour,  but 
forgets  Joseph,  xli.1  Pharaoh  dreams  a  dream,  which  his 
magicians  cannot  interpret ;  the  chief  butler  mentions 
Joseph,  who  interprets  the  dream  as  a  prediction  of  a 
famine.  Joseph  is  appointed  to  provide  for  this  famine ; 
he  marries,  and  has  two  sons,  xlii.2  The  brethren  come 
to  Joseph  to  buy  corn  ;  he  treats  them  as  spies  ;  ascertains 
that  they  have  a  younger  brother ;  lets  them  go,  on 
condition  that  they  bring  him ;  and  keeps  Simeon  as  a 
hostage.  When  they  come  home,  and  tell  their  story, 
Jacob  refuses  to  send  Benjamin,  xliii.3  The  brethren 
visit  Egypt  a  second  time  [with  Benjamin]  *.  xlv.3  Joseph 
makes  himself  known3,  and  sends  for  Jacob,  xlvi.  1-5 2. 
Jacob  goes  down  to  Egypt,  and  sacrifices  at  Beer-sheba 
on  his  way.  xlviii.2  Jacob  adopts  Ephraim  and  Manasseh, 
and  bestows  the  chief  blessing  on  the  younger,  Ephraim. 
1.  15-22.  Joseph  promises  to  continue  his  kindness  to  his 
brethren  after  Jacob's  death.  Joseph  lives  to  see  his  great 
grandchildren.  He  makes  the  Israelites  swear  to  take 
his  bones  to  Canaan.     He  dies. 


Priestly  Document  [P]. 

(a)  Characteristics.  This  book,  like  those  already 
described B,  was  originally  a  separate  book  or  pamphlet, 
and  was  also,  after  a  fashion,  a  very  short  history  of 
Israel.  But  it  was  chiefly  written  for  the  sake  of  the 
laws  which  it  records ;  to  show  how,  when,  and  why  they 

1  In  part,  see  Table  B.  2  Mostly. 

3  Portions.         *  See  Remark,  p.  5a  5  See  pp.  23,  30, 


INTRODUCTION  35 

were  made,  and  how  earlier  events  had  prepared  the  way 
for  them.  The  author  lived  in  Babylon  after  the  Exile ; 
he  had  read  the  older  books,  and  also  Babylonian  annals 
of  ancient  times,  and  poems  on  the  beginnings  of  the  gods 
and  the  world.  But  he  did  not  merely  piece  together 
bits  from  other  works.  These  did  not  always  tell  the 
story  clearly  or  fully,  and  they  sometimes  contradicted 
each  other.  The  Priestly  writer  took  into  account  what 
he  had  read,  and  what  he  knew  of  man  and  God,  and 
tried  to  think  out  how  things  must  really  have  happened. 
He  calculated  dates,  and  how  men  and  peoples  were 
related  to  each  other,  and  so  made  a  story,  first  of 
mankind,  and  then  of  Israel,  from  the  Creation  to  the 
death  of  Joshua.  Genesis  contains  those  portions  of  this 
book  which  relate  to  the  period  before  the  oppression  of 
the  Israelites  in  Egypt. 

The  Priestly  writer  was  inspired  to  see  that : — 

'Through  the  ages  one  unchanging  purpose  runs;' 

he  saw  God  working  out  His  ends  throughout  the  whole 
course  of  Nature  and  History ;    heaven  and  earth,  men 
and  nations,  had  been  formed,  controlled,  and  directed  in 
order  that  Israel  might  fulfil  its  mission  and  achieve  its 
destiny.     If  we  are  to  understand  this  view  of  the  Divine 
purpose,  we  must   remember  that   Israel  was  the  fore- 
runner of  Christ. 
Moreover, 
'The   thoughts  of  men    are  wider  with  the   process  of 
the  suns ; ' 
our  author  wrote  towards  the  close  of  the  period  of  O.  T. 
revelation,  when  Israel  had  been  taught  of  God  many  truths 
that  were  unknown  in  more  primitive  times.    He  tells  his 
story  so  that  it  may  illustrate  the  fuller  Divine  teaching ; 
and  he  leaves  out  anything  that  might  seem  to  clash  with 
it.     His   account   of  the   Creation   is   the  last  of  many 
editions  of  an  ancient  Semitic  story ;  but  he  has  purged 
it  of  its  polytheistic  superstition,  and  made  it  a  nobl*  and 
D  2 


36  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

simple  declaration  of  the  making  of  all  things  by  God. 
who  is  One,  holy  and  benevolent. 

In  this  document,  too,  we  read  'Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself1,'  ar*d  that  *  God  created  man  in  His 
own  image2.' 

Some  of  the  more  technical  characteristics  are  given  in 
the  following  paragraphs. 

The  following  section  will  illustrate  the  interest  shown 
by  this  document  in  genealogies  and  chronology,  an 
interest  which  extends  to  statistics  generally,  e.g.  the 
dimensions  of  the  ark3,  and  the  minute  details  as  to 
the  tabernacle  and  its  furniture4.  Such  features  are  due 
to  the  legal  nature  of  the  work,  which  dominates  even 
the  sections  of  it  found  in  Genesis.  It  is  true  there  are 
few  actual  laws,  only  those  of  the  Sabbath5  and  of 
Circumcision6.  But  the  way  in  which  these  are  intro- 
duced reveals  the  character  of  other  narratives ;  one 
object  in  telling  the  stories  of  the  Creation  and  of 
Abraham  is  to  give  the  account  of  the  origin  of  these 
observances,  and  to  furnish  the  great  historical  precedents, 
or  '  leading  cases.'  The  genealogies  prove  Israel's  title 
to  Canaan  and  to  pre-eminence  among  mankind,  partly 
by  its  descent  in  the  direct  male  line,  through  eldest 
sons,  from  the  first  man  who  was  made  in  the  image  of 
God  ;  and  partly,  where  the  descent  is  through  a  younger 
son,  by  special  Divine  choice  and  covenant. 

As  the  Priestly  Document  regards  the  Divine  Name 
Yahweh,  and  the  Mosaic  laws,  as  revelations  to  Moses 
of  matters  hitherto  unknown  to  men,  it  abstains  from 
using  Yahweh,  and  substitutes  Elohim 7  or  El  Shaddai 8 : 
the  Patriarchs  neither  erect  altars  nor  offer  sacrifices; 
and  there  is  no  recognition  of  the  difference  between  clean 
and  unclean  meats. 

1  Lev.  xix.  18.  2  Gen.  i.  27. 

3  Gen.  vi.  13-16,  P.         *  Exod.  xxv — xxxi,  xxxv— xl,  P. 

5  Gen.  ii.  1-4*.  6  Gen.  xvii. 

7  'God.'  8  <  God  Almighty.' 


INTRODUCTION  37 

The  document  has  a  very  characteristic  vocabulary  and 
style,  which  have  much  in  common  with  exilic  and  post- 
exilic  literature.  Any  reader  who  carefully  examines  the 
opening  section  in  Genesis  will  note  the  frequent  re- 
currence of  the  same  words,  phrases,  and  formulae. 

(b)  Names  and  Symbols.  This  document  has  been 
called  (1)  the  Book  of  the  Four  Covenants1-,  because  it 
records  the  covenants  made  by  God  with  Adam,  Noah, 
Abraham,  and  Moses ;  (2)  the  First  or  Earlier  Elohist, 
by  those  who  at  one  time  regarded  it  as  the  earliest  of  the 
Pentateuchal  documents:  Elohist  because  it  uses  the 
Divine  Name  Elohim  in  Genesis.  (3)  The  term  Second 
or  Later  Elohist,  on  the  other  hand,  has  sometimes  been 
used  for  it  by  those  who  hold  the  current  modern  view 
that  it  is  the  latest  of  the  main  documents  of  the  Penta- 
teuch. (4)  This  document  was  part  of  what  was  once 
known  as  the  Grundschrift  or  Fundamental  Document'1, 
or  as  the  Book  of  Origins,  and  the  title  Grundschrift  has 
sometimes  been  used  roughly  for  it  by  itself,  but  (5)  the 
usual  term  for  it  is  the  Priestly  Code  or  Document. 

The  ordinary  symbol  for  this  work  is  P.  The  symbols 
A,  Q  have  also  been  used  for  it,  or  the  bulk  of  it ;  and 
the  symbols  P1,  P2,  P3,  or  Ph,  P«,  P8  for  the  successive 
strata  of  it ;  P 1  or  P  h  is  also  known  as  H  or  the  Law 
of  Holiness.  The  Priestly  portions  of  Genesis  are  chiefly 
p  2  or  p  gf  j.  e#  they  belong  to  the  main  work  of  the 
Priestly  writers,  and  contain  little  of  the  laws  which  they 
took  over  from  earlier  codes,  or  of  the  additions  which 
later  writers  made  to  their  work. 

(c)  Contents.  The  Priestly  Document  in  Genesis  mainly 
consists  of  genealogies  and  chronological  statistics,  which, 
taken  together,  furnish  a  complete  genealogy  from  Adam 
to  the  Twelve  Patriarchs,  and  an  equally  complete  scheme 
of  chronology  for  the  same  period.  It  consists,  in  Genesis, 
of  ten  sections,  each  headed  the  f  Generations  of  *\ 

»  So  Wellhausen.  3  See  p.  32. 

3  Toledoth  ;  see  note  on  ii.  4. 


38  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

The  Priestly  narrative  in  our  book  may  be  summarized 
thus: — 

(i)  i.  I— ii.  4a.  The  Generations  of  Heaven  and  Earth. 
God,  in  seven  days,  reduces  to  order  the  primaeval  chaos 
and  forms  sea  and  land  and  heavenly  bodies ;  creates  all 
kinds  of  vegetable  and  animal  life ;  and,  iast  of  all,  man 
in  His  own  image.  He  rests  on  the  seventh  day,  and 
thus  institutes  the  Sabbath. 

(2)  v.  1-28,  30-32.  The  Generations  of  Adam. 
Genealogy  and  chronological  statistics  from  Adam  to 
the  three  sons  of  Noah. 

(3)  Portions1  of  vi.  9— ix.  29.  The  Generations  of 
Noah.  The  Flood  is  caused  by  the  breaking  up  of 
the  fountains  of  the  abyss  and  the  opening  of  the  windows 
of  heaven.  Noah  and  his  family,  and  two  each  of  every 
kind  of  beast  and  bird,  are  saved  in  the  ark ;  all  other 
living  creatures  are  destroyed.  The  Flood  lasts  a  year  and 
ten  days ;  the  stages  of  its  progress  are  dated  according 
to  the  years,  &c,  of  Noah's  life.  God  makes  a  covenant 
with  Noah,  and  gives  the  rainbow  as  a  sign. 

(4)  Portions  of  x.2  The  Generations  of  the  Sons  of 
Noah.  A  distribution  of  the  peoples  of  the  Hebrew 
world  between  the  three  sons  of  Noah. 

(5)  xi.  10-26.  The  Generations  of  Shem.  Genealogy 
and  chronological  statistics  from  Shem  to  the  three  sons 
of  Terah. 

(6)  xi.  27,  31,32.  The  Generations  of  Terah.  Terah's 
family.  Terah,  Abram,  Lot,  and  Sarai  migrate  from  Ur 
of  the  Chaldees  to  Haran,  where  Terah  dies. 

xii.  4b,  5.  Abram,  aged  75,  leaves  Haran  for  Canaan 
with  his  wife  Sarai,  and  with  Lot;  but  (xiii.  6,  nb), 
separates  from  Lot,  because  their  herds  are  too  large  to 
pasture  together. 

xvi.  ia,  3,  15,  16.  Sarai,  being  childless,  gives  Hagar 
to    Abram,  and    Ishmael    is   born   when  Abram   is   86. 

1  See  Analysis.  Table  B.     ■  See  Analysis,  Table  B  ;  cf.  p.  26. 


INTRODUCTION  39 

xvii.  When  Abram  is  99  God  changes  his  name  to 
Abraham,  Sarai's  to  Sarah  ;  makes  a  covenant  with  him  ; 
institutes  circumcision  as  the  sign  of  the  covenant ;  and 
promises  him  a  son  by  Sarah,  who  is  now  90. 

xix.  29.  God  overthrows  the  cities  of  the  Plain,  but 
rescues  Lot. 

xxi.  1-5  l.     Isaac  is  born  and  circumcised. 

xxiii.  Sarah  dies  at  the  age  of  127,  and  Abram  buries 
her  at  Machpelah  near  Hebron,  in  a  grave  purchased 
from  the  Hittites.  xxv.  7-10.  Abram  dies  at  the  age  of 
175,  and  Isaac  and  Ishmael  bury  him  at  Machpelah. 

(7)  xxv,  12-17.  The  Generations  of  Ishmael.  The 
descendants  of  Ishmael;  Ishmael  dies  at  the  age  of  137. 

(8)  xxv.  19,  &c.  The  Generations  of  Isaac,  xxv.  19,  20. 
Isaac,  aged  40,  marries  Rebekah ;  [Birth  of  Esau  and 
Jacob] 2.  xxvi.  34,  35.  Esau,  at  the  age  of  forty,  grieves 
his  parents  by  marrying  two  Hittite  wives,  xxvii.  46— 
xxviii.  9.  In  order  that  Jacob  may  not  marry  a  Hittite 
he  is  sent  to  Paddan-aram  to  marry  a  daughter  of  Laban. 
Esau,  perceiving  the  offence  he  has  given  by  marrying 
Hittites,  marries  an  Ishmaelite  wife.  xxix.  24,  28b,  29, 
xxx.  4a,  21,  22a.  Jacob  marries  [Leah]3  and  Rachel,  and 
their  handmaids  are  Zilpah  and  Bilhah.  Birth  of  Dinah. 
xxxi.  18.  He  leaves  Paddan-aram  to  return  to  Isaac, 
xxxv.  9-13, 15.  As  Jacob  is  on  his  way  home  God  appears 
to  him  at  a  certain  place  and  changes  his  name  to  Israel ; 
Jacob  names  the  place  Beth-el.  xxxv.  22b-29.  Jacob's 
twelve  sons.  Jacob  comes  to  Isaac  at  Hebron.  Isaac 
dies  at  the  age  of  180;  Esau  and  Jacob  bury  him. 

(9)  xxxvi.  1-30,  40-43,  xxxvii.3  The  Generations  of 
Esau.  His  wives*  and  descendants.  He  separates  from 
Jacob  because  their  herds  are  too  large  to  pasture  together, 
and  goes  out  of  Canaan  into  Edom. 

(10)  xxxvii.  2a,  &c.     The  Generations  of  Jacob.     [Some 

1  In  part.  2  See  Remark,  p.  52. 

3  See  Remark,  p.  52,  and  cf.  xxxv.  23. 

4  See  commentary. 


4o  THE   BOOK  OF   GENESIS 

preliminary  account  of  Joseph  *.]  xli.  46.  Joseph,  at  the 
age  of  thirty,  appears  before  Pharaoh,  and  is  made  his 
vizier,  xlvi.  6-27.  Jacob  and  his  family,  sixty-six  in  all — 
the  names  are  given— go  down  to  Joseph  in  Egypt ;  mean- 
while Joseph  has  married  Asenath,  the  daughter  of  an 
Egyptian  priest,  and  has  two  sons,  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh.  xlvii.  5b,  6a,  7-1 1,  27b.  Pharaoh  settles 
Israel  in  Goshen;  Jacob,  at  the  age  of  130,  blesses 
Pharaoh.  The  Israelites  prosper  and  multiply,  xlvii.  28, 
xlviii.  $-6.  At  the  age  of  147  Jacob  blesses  Joseph  and 
adopts  his  two  sons.  xlix.  29-33,  1.  12,  13.  Jacob  dies, 
and,  in  accordance  with  his  expressed  wishes,  is  buried 
with  Abraham  and  Isaac  at  Machpelah. 

Contents  of  the  Priestly  Document  in  the  rest  of  the 
Hexateuch  2.  The  main  sections  of  this  document  outside 
of  Genesis  are  Exodus  xxv — xxxi,  xxxv — xl,  the  whole  of 
Leviticus,  Numbers  i— x,  xvii — xix,  xxv— xxxi,  xxxiii  — 
xxxvi ;  also  in  the  rest  of  the  Hexateuch  portions  of  P  are 
combined  with  the  other  documents. 

The  history  is  carried  on  in  a  continuation  of  the 
genealogical  and  chronological  scheme  of  Genesis  ;  and 
is  used  as  a  framework  for  the  numerous  laws  which 
form  the  bulk  of  the  document,  and  have  given  it  the 
name  of  the  Priestly  Code. 

The  history  comes  to  an  end  with  the  death  of  Joshua ; 
but  the  historical  books  Judges — Kings  have  received 
additions  by  writers  who  wrote  under  the  influence  of 
the  Priestly  Document ;  and  Chronicles  is  a  re-statement 
of  the  history  of  Israel  from  this  point  of  view. 

5,    How  GENESIS  has  been  handed  down 

to  us. 

The  original  copy  of  Genesis  has  long  since  perished  ; 

and  the  book  is  now  only  known  to  us  from  manuscripts 

written  long  after  the  time  of  Christ,  and  from  editions 

1  See  Remark,  p.  52. 

2  For  details  see  volumes  on  Exodus,  &c. 


INTRODUCTION  41 

printed  from  such  manuscripts,  and  translations  made 
from  them. 

The  oldest  manuscripts  now  in  existence  in  which 
Genesis  is  contained  are  those  of  the  LXX  or  Greek  trans- 
lation. These  are  the  great  manuscripts  of  the  Greek 
Bible,  containing  the  N.T.  in  the  original  Greek  and  the 
Greek  translation  of  the  O.  T.  The  most  famous,  and 
probably  the  oldest,  of  these  is  the  Vatican  Codex1, 
so  called  because  it  is  preserved  in  the  Papal  Library 
of  the  Vatican  at  Rome.  Next  in  age  and  importance  is 
the  Sinaitic  Codex2,  so  called  because  it  was  found  in 
a  monastery  on  Mount  Sinai.  This  manuscript,  however, 
only  contains  portions  of  the  Greek  Genesis.  These  two 
manuscripts  were  written  in  the  fourth  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  Another  important  manuscript  of  the 
Greek  Bible  is  the  Alexandrine  Codex3,  which  was  once 
preserved  at  Alexandria,  and  was  presented  to  Charles  I 
by  a  patriarch  of  Alexandria,  and  is  now  in  the  British 
Museum.  This  manuscript  was  written  in  the  fifth  century, 
and  contains  most  of  Genesis.  There  are  also  many  later 
manuscripts  of  the  Greek  Bible.  The  translation  of  our 
book  which  is  preserved  in  these  various  copies  was  prob- 
ably made  in  the  third  century  before  Christ.  We  must 
remember  that  the  oldest  existing  manuscripts  of  this 
Greek  translation  were  written  in  the  fourth  century  of 
our  era,  about  600  years  after  the  translation  was 
made,  about  700  years  after  the  completion  of  the 
Pentateuch,  and  perhaps  about  1600  years  after  the  time 
of  Moses  \ 

The  next  oldest  manuscripts  in  which  Genesis  is  found 
are  those  containing  the   Latin,  Egyptian,  and   Syriac 

1  Often  denoted  by  the  symbol  B. 

2  Usually  denoted  by  the  symbol  N,  the  Hebrew  letter 
Aleph. 

n  Usually  denoted  by  the  symbol  A. 

4  Dating  the  completion  of  the  Pentateuch  about  b.  c.  400, 
and  the  Exodus  about  b.c  1300;  the  latter  date  is  quite  un- 
certain. 


42  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

Versions  of  the  O.  T.  These  translations  were  made 
between  A.  D.  150-400,  and  the  oldest  manuscripts  of 
them  which  contain  our  book  or  portions  of  it  were  written 
between  a.d.  400-600.  These  versions  were  either  made 
from  or  influenced  by  the  LXX  or  Greek  translation. 

The  oldest  Hebrew  manuscript  containing  Genesis 
whose  date  is  known  belongs  to  the  ninth  century  after 
Christ,  and  is  not  written  in  the  characters  used  by  the 
ancient  Israelites,  but  in  the  character  used  in  printed 
Hebrew  Bibles,  and  known  as  '  Square  Hebrew.'  It  is 
really  an  Aramaic  character.  There  are  also  manuscripts 
preserved  amongst  the  Samaritans,  or  obtained  from 
them.  These  are  written  in  a  form  of  the  old  Israelite 
character,  and  are  known  as  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch. 
Probably  none  of  them  are  older  than  the  ninth  century 
A.D.  Thus,  as  far  as  we  know,  the  oldest  existing 
manuscript  of  the  Hebrew  Genesis  was  written  about 
1200  years  after  the  completion  of  the  Pentateuch,  and 
perhaps  considerably  more  than  2000  years  after  the 
time  of  Moses  K  Thus  our  oldest  manuscripts  are  those 
of  a  version,  and  were  copied  about  700  years  after  our 
book  was  completed  ;  and  our  oldest  Hebrew  manuscripts 
were  not  written  till  about  500  years  later.  During 
these  long  intervals  the  book  must  have  been  copied 
again  and  again.  Each  copying  was  an  opportunity  for 
making  mistakes  or  intentional  alterations  ;  and  the 
reader  may  naturally  suppose  that  Genesis,  as  we  find  it 
in  these  manuscripts,  is  very  different  from  the  same  book 
as  it  stood  when  the  Pentateuch  was  completed.  No 
doubt  there  have  been  alterations,  but  the  changes  were 
limited  by  the  care  the  Jews  took  in  copying  the  O.  T. 
During  the  first  few  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  they 
devised  an  elaborate  system  to  secure  the  accurate  copying 
of  their  Scriptures.  They  counted  clauses,  words,  and 
even  letters.     Hence  we  are  fairly  sure  that  our  Hebrew 

1  Cf.  footnote  to  p.  41  • 


INTRODUCTION  43 

manuscripts  are  almost  identical  with  those  in  circulation 
among  the  Jews  about  a.  d.  200-400 ;  still,  however, 
about  600  years  after  the  completion  of  the  Pentateuch. 

We  must  frankly  admit  that  we  are  uncertain  as  to  the 
original  form  of  many  passages,  some  of  which,  unfortu- 
nately, are  important  and  interesting,  for  instance,  the 
clause  in  Jacob's  Blessing  on  Judah  translated  in  the 
English  versions,  ■  Until  Shiloh  come  V  But  this  un- 
certainty is  comparatively  limited;  with  the  various 
manuscripts  at  our  disposal  we  are  practically  sure  that 
the  original  Genesis  was  substantially  the  same  as  the 
book  we  now  have.  In  order  to  give  the  full  reasons 
for  our  assurance  we  should  have  to  enter  into  many 
technical  details,  but  we  may  state  one  leading  con- 
sideration, which  will  be  easily  Understood  without  any 
technical  knowledge.  Our  present  manuscripts  are  the 
result  of  three  distinct  processes:  (a)  a  process  of 
frequent  copying  and  recopying  of  Greek  manuscripts 
of  a  Greek  translation  ;  {b)  a  similar  process  of  copying 
Hebrew  manuscripts  in  the  '  Square  Hebrew  '  character  ; 
(c)  a  third  like  process  of  copying  the  Samaritan 
Pentateuch2,  i.e.  of  copying  Hebrew  manuscripts  in  the 
Samaritan  variety  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  character3- 
In  each  process  mistakes  would  arise,  but  not  the  same 
mistakes.  The  blunders  and  changes  made  by  Greek 
scribes  copying  Greek  manuscripts  would  seldom  corre- 
spond exactly  to  those  made  by  Jewish  scribes  copying 
Hebrew  manuscripts.  And  again,  the  mistakes  made  by 
Jewish  scribes  copying  manuscripts  in  the  'Square 
Hebrew '  character  would  not,  as  a  rule,  be  the  same  as 
those  made  by  Samaritan  scribes  copying  Hebrew  written 
in    Samaritan    characters.      Hence    when    these    three 


1  Gen.  xlix.  10.  2  See  above,  p.  42. 

3  For  the  sake  of  simplicity  we  have  ignored  MSS.  of 
versions  other  than  the  Greek  or  LXX.  The  existence  of 
these  additional  authorities  strengthens  the  argument  but  does 
not  alter  its  character. 


44  THE   BOOK   OF  GENESIS 

authorities  agree  in  giving  the  same  texts,  or  a  Greek 
rendering  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrew 
manuscripts,  we  may  reasonably  conclude  that  we  have 
something  very  like  the  original.  Now  these  three 
authorities,  the  LXX  in  its  Greek  manuscripts,  the 
Hebrew  as  given  in  the  'Square  Hebrew' manuscripts1, 
and  the  Hebrew  as  given  in  the  Samaritan  manuscripts, 
give  us  substantially  the  same  narratives  ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  narratives  as  we  know  them  in  our  English  Bibles. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  various  ancient  manuscripts, 
from  these  were  derived  the  printed  editions  of  the 
Hebrew  O.  T.,  and  of  the  Greek,  Latin,  and  other  trans- 
lations of  the  O.  T.  Our  A.  V.  is  a  revision  of  previous 
English  translations  which  were  largely  influenced  by 
the  Vulgate  or  Latin  translation  made  by  the  learned 
Latin  divine  or  '  Father,'  Jerome,  c.  A.  D.  400.  This 
Latin  translation  was  a  revision  of  previous  translations 
made  from  the  LXX.  The  R.  V.  is  a  revision  of  the 
Authorised. 

The  English  Bible,  as  we  are  familiar  with  it,  contains 
many  features  that  were  not  in  the  Hebrew,  especially 
in  the  A. V.  The  title  'Genesis'  or  'Beginning5  or 
' Origin'  is  taken  from  the  LXX.  The  Jews  used  as 
title  the  first  word  of  the  book,  Bereshith,  which  means 
'  In  the  beginning.'  The  contents  of  the  various  chapters, 
and  the  dates  in  the  margins  of  copies  of  the  A.  V.,  are 
interpolations,  and  do  not  correspond  to  anything  in  the 
Hebrew.  The  division  into  chapters  and  verses  was  not 
present  in  the  original  book.  The  verses  appear  to 
correspond  substantially  to  those  into  which  the  book 
was  divided  by  Jewish  scholars  in  the  early  centuries 
after  Christ.  The  division  into  chapters  seems  to  have 
been  first  made  in  manuscripts  of  Jerome's  Latin  trans- 
lation, the  Vulgate,  early  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
According  to  one  authority,  this  division  was  made  by 

1  Called  the  '  Massoretic  Text.' 


INTRODUCTION  45 

Stephen  Langton,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.     From  the 
Vulgate  it  passed  into  Hebrew,  English,  and  other  Bibles. 

6.   How  our  GENESIS  has  been  divided  up 

INTO    ITS  ORIGINAL  DOCUMENTS. 

We  have  explained1  that  Genesis  was  compiled  by 
a  series  of  editings  from  three  or  more  ancient  works. 
None  of  these  works  survive,  except  so  far  as  portions  of 
them  are  contained  in  Genesis.  Clearly  it  was  a  very 
hard  task  to  determine  from  which  original  document  each 
section  of  our  book  was  taken  ;  indeed,  it  is  a  task  which 
can  never  be  fully  accomplished.  Nevertheless,  numerous 
scholars  belonging  to  almost  every  branch  of  the  Christian 
Church  have  laboured  at  this  task  with  patient  industry 
during  a  period  of  more  than  a  hundred  years  ;  and  their 
labours  have  been  crowned  with  a  large  measure  of 
success.  There  is  very  general  agreement  as  to  which 
portions  belonged  to  the  Priestly  Document 2,  and  as  to 
which  portions  of  i— xix  belonged  to  the  Primitive 
Document3.  With  regard  to  the  portions  of  xx  1 
which  do  not  belong  to  the  Priestly  Document,  some  are 
assigned  with  comparative  certainty  to  the  Primitive  or 
the  Elohistic  Document 4,  as  the  case  may  be  ;  but  there 
are  others  the  origin  of  which  is  uncertain,  they  may  have 
come  from  either. 

An  exhaustive  discussion  of  the  reasons  why  the  several 
parts  of  Genesis  have  been  assigned  to  one  or  other 
document  would  fill  many  large  volumes;  but  we  may 
very  briefly  indicate  the  character  of  the  methods  of 
analysis.  The  first  clue  was  the  use  of  the  Divine  Names. 
It  was  noticed  that  in  some  passages  Yahweh,  Lord, 
was  used,  and  in  others  Elohim,  God 5.  An  examination 
of  the  Yahweh  passages  showed  that  they  were  similar  in 
language,  style,  and  ideas,  and  in  historical  and  religious 

1  See  pp.  9,  16.  2  Pp.  34  &  3  Pp-  22  ff- 

1  P.  30. 

3  On  the  use  in  ii,  iii,  of  Yahweh  Elohim  see  note  on  H.  4. 


46  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

standpoint;  so  that  they  seemed  to  be  portions  of  one 
work,  which  has  been  styled  the  Yahwistic,  Jehovistic, 
or,  in  this  book,  the  Primitive  Document l.  The  Elohim 
passages  in  chapters  i— xix  were  also  very  similar  to 
each  other,  and  very  different  from  the  Yahweh  passages, 
so  that  they  seemed  to  be  portions  of  another  work,  the 
Priestly  Document2.  But  the  Elohim  passages  in 
chapters  xx — 1  were  by  no  means  all  alike.  The  study 
of  the  Elohim  passages  in  i— xix  revealed  the  peculi- 
arities of  the  Priestly  Document,  and  enabled  critics  to 
ascertain  that  many  of  the  Elohim  passages  in  xx — 1  also 
belonged  to  this  document.  The  other,  non-Priestly, 
Elohim  passages  in  xx — 1  also  closely  resembled  each 
other;  they  differed  widely  from  the  Priestly  passages, 
but  had  a  good  deal  in  common  with  the  Yahwistic  or 
Primitive  sections.  These  non-Priestly  Elohim  passages 
therefore  seemed  to  come  from  a  third  work,  known  as 
the  Elohistic  Document 3. 

There  are,  however,  in  Genesis  a  number  of  passages 
which  do  not  contain  either  Yahweh  or  Elohim ;  but  the 
characteristics  of  the  three  documents  were  ascertained, 
as  we  have  seen,  from  the  passages  which  do  contain 
Divine  Names.  As  a  rule  some  of  these  characteristics 
occurred  in  the  other  passages,  and  thus  they  too  were 
assigned  to  one  or  other  document. 

In  some  cases,  however,  the  analysis  cannot  be  com- 
pleted. Apart  from  the  use  of  Divine  Names,  the 
Elohistic,  and  the  Yahwistic,  or  Primitive  Document,  are 
sometimes  so  similar,  that,  when  the  Divine  Names  do 
not  occur,  it  may  be  clear  that  a  passage  belongs  to  one 
or  other  of  these  two,  but  we  may  not  know  which ;  or, 

1  A  closer  examination  revealed  minor  differences  which 
show  that  this  document  was  itself  compiled  from  earlier  works : 
cf.  p.  23. 

2  See  pp.  34  ff. 

3  In  this  also  there  were  minor  differences  which  pointed  to 
compilation  from  earlier  works  ;  see  p.  3a. 


INTRODUCTION  47 

again,  it  may  be  clear  that  a  passage  is  compiled  from 
these  two,  but  we  may  not  be  able  to  say  how  much 
comes  from  each.  Moreover,  there  are  phrases  and 
sentences  which  present  no  special  peculiarities,  and  may 
have  been  taken  from  any  of  the  three  documents  \  Often 
the  most  important  verses  of  a  passage  can  be  clearly 
recognized  as  coming  from  one  or  other  document,  but  it 
is  impossible  to  be  certain  as  to  the  exact  point  at  which 
an  extract  from  one  document  ends  and  an  extract  from 
another  begins.  Moreover,  at  the  point  of  union  between 
extracts  from  two  documents  the  editors  often  inserted 
a  few  words  of  their  own  to  make  the  whole  run  smoothly. 
As  the  editors  sometimes  imitate  the  style  of  the  docu- 
ments, it  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish  a  fragment  of 
a  document  from  an  editorial  addition. 

7.  The  Interpretation  of  GENESIS. 
If  we  take  into  account  the  varying  views  held  by 
different  scholars,  we  shall  have  to  consider  the  probability 
that  the  Book  of  Genesis  may  include  various  kinds  of 
material  which  may  be  roughly  classified  as  follows : — 

(a)  Ordinary  History.  The  story  of  Joseph,  for 
instance,  may  be  taken  as  the  account  of  events  which 
really  happened  to  a  historical  individual,  Joseph,  who 
really  existed.  Such  history  might  be  supposed  to  be 
accurate  in  every  detail  by  those  who  hold  the  strictest 
theory  of  verbal  inspiration. 

(b)  Tribal  History.  Narratives  which  seem  at  first 
sight  to  be  concerned  with  individuals  may  really  be 
setting  forth,  in  this  somewhat  figurative  fashion,  the 
relations  and  fortunes  of  tribes.  For  instance,  the  account 
in  chapter  xxxiv  of  the  seduction  of  Dinah,  and  the 
revenge  taken  by  Simeon  and  Levi,  is  often  interpreted  as 
referring  to  an  attack  on  Shechem  by  the  two  tribes  of 
Simeon  and  Levi. 

1  For  the  sake  of  simplicity  the  editorial  additions  are  mostly 
ignored  in  this  section. 


48  THE    BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

(c)  Typical  Narratives.  Portions  of  some  of  the  stories 
have  been  supposed  to  have  arisen  through  attributing 
to  tribal  heroes,  like  Abraham  and  Jacob,  experiences 
familiar  in  early  days.  We  use  the  word  'familiar'  in 
a  limited  sense,  as  the  experiences  which  popular  tradition 
loves  to  describe  are  usually  romantic,  striking,  or  excep- 
tional ;  e.  g.  the  risks  run  by  Sarah  and  Rebekah  when 
sojourning  in  Egypt  or  at  Gerar,  and  the  meeting  of 
Jacob  and  Rachel  at  the  well. 

(d)  Israelite  Traditions.  Some  scholars  would  think 
the  term  *  Ordinary  History,'  as  applied  to  any  part  of 
Genesis,  to  be  misleading ;  and  would  yet  hold  that  the 
book  includes  ancient  Israelite  traditions,  which  had  their 
origin  in  actual  individuals  and  events. 

(e)  Semitic  Cosmology  and  Accounts  of  the  Beginnings 
of  the  Nations  and  of  Civilisation.  It  is  commonly  held 
that  many  of  the  earlier  sections  of  Genesis  go  back  to 
literature  or  traditions  older  than  the  existence  of  Israel 
as  a  separate  people.  The  accounts  of  the  Creation  and 
the  Flood  have  much  in  common  with  the  Babylonian 
narratives  on  the  same  subjects.  The  Biblical  stories  on 
these  and  other  topics  are  commonly  held  to  be  Israelite 
versions  of  the  narratives  which  arose  amongst  the  Semites 
to  account  for  the  Beginnings  of  the  World,  of  Man,  and 
of  Culture.  Such  narratives  are  really  a  picturesque  way  of 
setting  forth  scientific 1  theory.  In  dealing  with  an  ancient 
work,  like  Genesis,  compiled  from  still  more  ancient 
sources,  we  cannot  say  how  much  of  its  contents  belong 
to  each  of  these  classes  of  material.  But  the  following 
may  be  taken  as  a  very  rough  and  approximate  account  of 
views  held  by  many  modern  scholars. 

The  Priestly  Document  is  an  edifying  history  of  the 
religion  and  religious  standing  of  Israel,  written  in  Oriental 
fashion, according  to  which  literal  statements  of  fact,  pictur- 
esque imagery,  and  figurative  narratives  are  combined 
without  any  attempt  to  indicate  which  is  which. 

1  i.  e.  'scientific '  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  times. 


INTRODUCTION  49 

Of  the  older  material,  the  incidents  from  the  Creation 
to  the  Tower  of  Babel  belong  to  (e)  Semitic  Cosmology  ; 
but  the  genealogies  in  chapter  x,  and,  perhaps,  some 
other  items,  are  Tribal  History. 

Chapter  xiv  (Abraham,  Amraphel  [Hammurabi],  Lot, 
and  Melchizedek)  is  often  regarded  as  Ordinary  History. 

The  remainder  of  the  material  is  mostly  Tribal  His- 
tory, often  expanded  into  Typical  Narratives ;  but  in  these 
there  are  embedded  Israelite  Traditions  and  probably 
actual  facts  as  to  historical  individuals,  such  as  Abraham, 
Jacob,  and  Joseph. 

The  Tribal  History  recorded  in  Genesis  may  be  briefly 
summarized  thus1 : — 

The  nations  known  to  Israel  were  assigned  to  three 
groups  2,  (a)  Japheth,  including  the  less-known  peoples  to 
the  north  and  west ;  (b)  Ham,  including  Egypt,  Canaan, 
and  many  Arabian  tribes;  (c)  Sheni,  including  many 
Arabian  tribes,  and  the  tribes  related  to  or  descended 
from  Abraham. 

The  Israelites  considered  themselves  as  akin3  to  the 
Syrians  of  Haran  ;  to  Moab  and  Ammon  (Lot) ;  to  the 
Ishmaelite,  Nahorite,  and  Keturaean  Arabs,  including 
Midian  and  Sheba,  and  especially  to  Edom.  Edom  was 
a  monarchy  before  Israel 4. 

Israel  was  formed5  by  the  confederation  of  various 
tribes— in  the  first  instance,  Jacob,  Leah,  Rachel,  Bilhah, 
and  Zilpah  ;  which  became  by  various  changes  the  Twelve 
Tribes.  During  this  time  Israel  was  involved  in  various 
relations,  peaceful  and  hostile,  with  the  Syrians  of  Haran, 
Edom,  and  the  Canaanites. 

In  early  times  Reuben  was  the  leading  tribe,  but  lost 
its  leadership.     In  a  conflict  with  the  Canaanites7  a  tribe 

1  For  details,  see  notes  on  the  several  sections. 

2  Ch.  x  ;  as  far  as  possible  reference  to  discrepancies  has 
been  reserved  for  the  detailed  notes. 

3  xi,  xvi.  xix,  xxii.  xxiv,  xxv.  xxvi,  xxix.  xxx. 

4  xxxvi.  '-  xxix-  I,  *'  xlix.  3,  4.  '  xxxiv. 

E 


50  THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 

named  Dinah  was  annihilated,  and  the  tribes  of  Simeon 
and  Levi  were  reduced  to  mere  remnants.  The  tribe  of 
Judah1  was  largely  formed  out  of  Canaanite  or  Edomite 
elements  ;  its  clans  in  early  times  were  Er,  Onan,  and 
Shelah  :  but  Er  and  Onan  were  destroyed,  and  after- 
wards replaced  by  Perez  and  Zerah.  The  tribe  of  Joseph 
was  divided  in  later  times  into  Ephraim  and  Manasseh. 
In  earlier  times  Manasseh,  later  on  Ephraim,  was  the 
more  important  of  these  two  2. 

Our  uncertainty  as  to  the  exact  character  of  different 
sections  of  the  book  may  affect  our  views  as  to  the  methods 
of  Divine  revelation,  but  it  does  not  in  any  way  invalidate 
the  claim  of  Genesis  to  be  regarded  as  an  inspired  record 
of  revelation.  Our  Lord's  parables  show  us  that  God 
can  teach  us  by  narratives  which  are  not  literal  history ; 
so  that  we  have  no  right  to  set  aside  the  Divine  teaching 
in  Genesis  if  it  is  shown  to  come  to  us  through  similar 
narratives.  To  speak  of  tribes  or  nations  as  if  they  were 
individuals  is  a  perfectly  legitimate  form  of  history,  when 
once  it  is  recognized  and  understood.  But  when  tribal 
history  is  told  in  this  way  it  naturally  assumes  forms 
which  are  true  of  individual  life  and  convey  lessons  to 
individuals ;  indeed,  this  method  of  setting  forth  the 
history  of  a  community  is  only  possible  because  social 
life  is  individual  life  raised  to  a  higher  power.  The 
editors  who  compiled  Genesis  in  its  final  form  intended 
the  accounts  of  the  Patriarchs  to  be  read  as  edifying 
narratives  of  the  lives  of  individuals,  whose  examples 
might  warn,  encourage,  and  otherwise  instruct  the  readers. 
The  story  of  these  lives  was  not  told  in  the  spirit  of 
modern  scientific  history,  but  in  order  to  illustrate  moral 
truths  ;  and  for  this  purpose  we  can  still  use  them,  what- 
ever our  view  may  be  as  to  the  amount  of  history  they 
contain. 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that  the  Priestly  Document 

1  xxxviii,  '  xli.  61  f.,  xlviii. 


INTRODUCTION  51 

was  intended  to  supersede  the  older  documents,  and  to 
suppress  the  more  anthropomorphic  narratives,  e.g.  the 
statement  that  Yahweh  built  up  the  first  woman  out  of 
a  rib  which  He  had  taken  from  the  side  of  the  first  man. 
Popular  feeling  was  too  strong  for  the  Priestly  theologians, 
and  they  had  to  be  content  with  setting  their  own  account 
side  by  side  with  the  older  narratives  in  the  complete 
Pentateuch.  But  the  final  editors  worked  in  the  spirit 
and  under  the  influence  of  the  Priestly  Document.  We 
are  convinced1  that  they  intended  that  the  anthropo- 
morphic narratives  should  be  corrected  or  interpreted 
according  to  the  more  enlightened  views  of  the  Priestly 
writer.  For  instance,  they  did  not  intend  that  the 
building  up  of  Eve  out  of  Adam's  rib  should  be  taken 
literally. 

1  This  view,    perhaps,   is   hardly   that   of  the  majority  of 
scholars. 


52  THE    BOOK   OF    GENESIS 

TABLES. 
A.    Symbols. 

The  various  documents,  &c,  are  denoted  by  the  following 
symbols,  which  are  inserted  in  square  brackets  in  the  R.  V. 
text,  pp.  73 ff.,  e.g.  [P],  at  the  beginning  of  each  section  of 
a  document.  Also  the  document  or  documents  from  which 
a  page  or  sections  of  a  page  were  taken  are  indicated  at  the 
top  of  each  page,  e.  g.  P,  or  P,  J,  E,  &c. 

J.  The  Primitive  Document  (or  Yahwistic  or  Jehovistic 
Document),  using  Yah  weh  (Jehovah,  Lord)  in  Genesis1. 

E.    The  Elohistic  Document,  using  Elohim  (God)  in  Genesis'2. 

JE.  The  Twofold  Document,  compiled  from  J  and  E. 
This  S3'mbol  JE)  is  placed  against  passages  derived 
from  this  combined  document,  in  cases  where  it  is 
not  certain  to  which  of  the  three,  J,  E,  or  RJr,  the 
passage  belongs ;  or  how  the  passage  should  be 
divided  between  J  and  E 8  and  RJE. 

P.  The  Priestly  Document,  also  using  Elohim  (God)  in 
Genesis  *. 

R.  Additions  by  one  or  other  of  the  various  editors  :  (a) 
the  editor,  denoted  bj'  RJE,  who  combined  J  and  E 
into  JE  ;  or  />)  the  editor,  denoted  by  Rp,  who  com- 
bined JE  with  Deuteronomy  D;  or  (c)  the  editor, 
denoted  by  Rp,  who  combined  P  with  JED,  and 
completed  the  Pentateuch5. 

Remark.  When  some  incident  is  only  found  in  one  or  more 
of  the  documents,  and  not  in  the  others,  it  is  often  probable 
that  it  was  contained  originally  in  the  latter  document  or 
documents,  but  has  been  omitted  in  the  combined  work  to 
avoid  repetition  ;  cf.  p.  u. 

1  See  p.  22.  2  See  p.  30.  3  See  p.  12. 

1  See  p.  34.  ;  See  p.  14. 


INTRODUCTION 


53 


B.    Table  of  the  Analysis1. 
(d)  I— XIX. 


J 

P 

R 

ii.  46-  iv. 

i.  1 — ii.  4a. 

v.  29. 

v.  1-28,  30-32. 

vi    1-8. 

vi.  9-22. 

vn.  1-5,  7,  io,  12, 

vii.  6,  8,9,  11,  13- 

166,  17,  22  f. 

16a,  18-21,  24. 

viii.   2b,  3«,  6-12, 

viii.    1,    2rt,    36-5. 

136,  20-22. 

13a,  14-19- 

ix.  18-27. 

ix.  1-17,  28,  29. 

x.  8-19,  21,  24-30. 

x.  1-7,  20, 22 f.,  31  f. 

xi.  1-9,  28-30. 

xi.  10-27,  31  f- 

f  Unknown! 
-     Source     \ 
{      xiv.       j 

xii.  i-4«.  6-20. 

xii.  4b,  5. 

xiii.     1-5,    7-1  ia, 

xiii.  6,  11b. 

12-18. 

XV.  2 

xvi.  lb,  2,  4-14. 

xvi.  ia,  3,  15  f.,  xvii. 

xviii. 

xix.  1-28,  30-38. 

xix.  29. 

(b)  XX 

-L. 

j 

E 

1 

R 

xx.  1-17. 

xx.  18. 

xxi.  ia,  2a,  7, 

xxi.  6,  8-24. 

xxi.  ib,  26-5 

25,26.28-30. 

27.31- 

xxi.  3 

2-34- 

xxn.  20-24. 

xxn.  1-13,  19. 

xxiii. 

xxii.  14-18. 

XXIV. 

xxv.   1-6,  116, 

xxv.  7-1 1  a,  12- 

18,      2 1  -26a, 

17,     19,     20, 

!     27-34. 

266. 

:  xxvi.  6-14,  16, 

xxvi.  34,  35. 

xxvi.    1-5, 

j     *7,  19-33- 

i5r  18. 

xxvn.  1-45. 

xxvii.  46. 

xxvin.  10-22. 

xxvm.  1-9. 

1  For  symbols  J,  E,  P,  R  see  p.  52. 

2  Portions  of  xv  are  ascribed  to  E. 


54 


THE   BOOK  OF   GENESIS 

(b)  XX— L.     (cont.) 


J 

E 

P                       R 

xxix.  2-14, 

xxix.  1. 

xxix.  24,  286, 

3!-35. 

29. 

xxix.  15-23,  25-28^,  30. 

xxx.  1-3,  46-20,  226-43. 

XXX.      4a,      21, 

22(1. 

xxxi.  i-i8rt,  19-50. 

xxxi.  186 

xxxi.  51-55. 

xxxii.  3-32 l. 

xxxii.  if.  [24- 

xxxiii.  1- 1 7  '. 

xxxiii.  1-17  . 

xxxiii.  18a2. 

xxxiii.  18  : 

xxxiii.  18 — xxxiv.  31  is  based 

—  xxxiv. 

on  J  and  E,  and  contains 

3i- 

fragments  of  both. 

I  xxxv.    1-5,   7, 

xxxv.    62,    9- 

I    8,  14. 

13,    15,   226- 

XXXV.    l6-22ff. 

29. 

xxxvi.  31-39. 

xxxvi.      1-30, 
40-43- 

xxxvii.     26-4. 

xxxvii.     5-1 1, 

xxxvii.  1,  2ti. 

12-13^,    146, 

136,  14a,  15- 

|     18,  21,   256- 

17,     19,     20, 

27,  286,  32a, 

22-25«,      28(7, 

336,  35- 

28C-3I,       326, 

33",  34,  36- 

xxxvi  ii. 

xxxix.  ib*. 

xxxix  "\ 

xl5. 

xli.  1-32 7. 

xl.3*;i566. 

xli.  1468. 

xli.  33-37- 

xli.  41-45.          I  xli.  38-40. 

xli.  46. 

xli.  47-49- 

|  xli.  50-52  °. 

xli.  50b10. 

xli.  53-57- 

xlii.  1-7. 

1 

1  Mostly.                     ?  Portion. 

;.                     8  Except  16. 

4  '  Potiphar  . 

.  .   guard.' 

5  Except  i 

b,  156,  &c. 

c  From  « into  the  prison,'  and  from  '  and  here ' ;  for  one  or  two 
other  fragments  of  R  see  commentary. 

7  Except  146.  s  'And  they  brought  .  .  .  dungeon. 

a  Except  506.  10  From  '  which  Asenath. 


INTRODUCTION 


55 


(b)  XX-L.     (conL) 


1    J 

E     « 

P 

R 

xlii.     27,    28a, 

xlii.  8-26, 286- 

33. 

37- 

xliii.  /-13,  15-     xliii.  14,  236. 

*dfh  25-34- 

xliv. 

xlv.  1 — xlvi.  5. 

xlvi.  6-27. 

xlvi.  28 — xlvii. 

xlvii.  5,  6a,  7- 

4,  6b. 

11. 

xlvii.     12-27^, 

xlvii.  276,  28. 

29-31. 

xlviii.  1,  2,  7-22. 

xlviii.  3-6. 

xlix.  1-27,  336. 

xlix.  286-33^. 

xlix.  28tf. 

1.  I-11,  14. 

1.  15-26. 

1.  12,  13. 

Comparative  Table  of  Chief  Contents  of 
the  Three  Main  Documents. 


Introductory  Note,  (a)  Only  complete  sections  are  shown  ; 
where  independent  accounts  have  been  pieced  together  to 
form  a  continuous  narrative  they  are  given  under  a  single 
heading,  which  is  printed  across  the  columns  belonging  to  the 
documents  from  which  these  accounts  are  taken,  e.  g.  '  Flood.' 

(b)  Where  different  documents  give  separate  complete 
accounts  the  title  is  printed  separately  in  each  column,  e.  g. 
i  Creation.' 

(c)  Fragments  of  documents  embedded  in  sections  from  other 
documents,  and  small  additions,  are  not  always  shown  in  this 
table. 

(d)  In  some  cases  sections  are  transposed  or  repeated  for 
the  sake  of  comparison,  and  the  transposition  is  explained  in 
footnotes. 

(e)  For  further  details  of  analysis  see  Table  B. 


56 


THE   BOOK   OF  GENESIS 


I.    The  Origins  of  the  World  and  the 
Nations. 


p 

J 

E 

(Priestly  Document.) 

(Primitive  Document.) 

\Elohistic 
Document.) 

.  i.  i — jr.  4«.  Creation,  j  ii   46-25.    Creation. 

j  iii.     The  Fall. 

j  iv.    1-15.     Cain    and 

Abel. 

v.    1-8.     Genealogy,  i  iv.   [16 '-24]   25,   26. 

Adam  to  Enoch.          i     Genealogy,      Adam 

j    to  Enoch  (Worship 

of  Yahweh^. 

v.  9-27.    Genealogy, 

iv.   16-18  '.      Genea- 

Cainan to  Lamech. 

logy,    Cain    to    La- 
mech. 

v.  28-31.     Family  of 
Lamech  Noah,  &c). 

iv.  18-24  x.   Family  of 
Lamech  ( Jabal,  &c. ). 

v.  32.   Sons  of  Noah. 

vi.  1-4.     Sons  of  God 
and     daughters     of 
men. 

vi.  5—  viii.     Flood. 

ix.    1— 1 7.      Covenant  i  ix.  18-27.     Curse   of 

and  Rainbow.             1     Canaan. 

ix.  28  — x.     Origin  of  the  Nations. 

xi.    1-9.      Tower    of 

Babel. 

1 

xi.  10-26  Genealogy, 
Shem  to  Terah  and 

j 

his  sons. 

1 

Transposition. 


INTRODUCTION 


57 


II.    Abraham. 


r    -            • — 

P 

J 

E 

xi.  27,  31  f.,  xii.  46,  5. 
Migration  to  Canaan. 

xi.    28-30,    xii.    1-3, 
6-9.      Migration    to 
Canaan. 

xii.  10-20.    Abram  in 
Egypt. 

xiii.  6,  1 10.     Separa- 
tion  of  Abrain  and 
Lot. 

xni.    1-5,   7-1 1<?,   12- 
18.      Separation    of 
Abram  and  Lot. 

xiv.     Abram     rescues 
Melchizedek. 


Unknown  Source) 

Lot     from    Amraphel, 


and    meets 


xv.    Yahweh  promises  Abram 
1         heir,  and  Canaan  to  his  seed. 

an 

xvi.     Birth  of  Ishmael. 

xvii.       Institution    of 
Circumcision. 

i 

xviii.  1- 15.     Promise 
of  birth  of  Isaac. 

xviii.      16-33.       An- 
nouncement of  doom 
of  Sodom  and  Go- 
morrah.    Abram  in- 
tercedes for  Sodom. 

xix.  1- -11.  The  angels 
sojourn    with     Lot, 
and   are   threatened 
by  the  men  of  So- 
dom. 

J  xix,  29.  Overthrow  of 
the     cities    of    the 

1     Plain.      Rescue    of 
Lot. 

1 

xix.     12-25.       Over- 
throw of  the   cities 
of  the  Plain.   Rescue 
of  Lot. 

xix.  26.     Lot's  wife  a 
pillar  of  salt. 

xix.  27,  28.  Abraham 
surveys  the  ruin. 

xix.  30-38.     Birth  of 
Ammon  and  Moab. 

i 

58 


THE    BOOK   OF   GENESIS 


II.  Abraham  {conL). 


p 

J 

E 

I 

xxi.  1-7.     Birth  of  Isaac. 

xx.   Abraham 
at  Gerar. 

xxi.  22-34.    Covenant 
between      Abraham 
and    Abimelech     at 
Beer-sheba. 

xxi.         8-21. 
Hagar     and 
Ishmael  sent 

away. 

xxii.  1-13,  19  ; 
(14-18  -  R". 
Offering    up 
of  Isaac. 

xxiii.        Death     and 
burial  of  Sarah. 

xxii.    20-24.      Abra- 
ham's kinsfolk. 

xxiv.  Eliezer  obtains 
Rebekah  as  a  wife 
for  Isaac. 

xxv.    7-iia.      Death 
and  burial  of  Abra- 
ham. 

xxv.  1-6.    Abraham's 
family  by  Keturah. 

III.    Isaac. 

xxv.  12-17.    The  de- 
scendants    of    Ish- 
mael.    His  death. 

xxv.    116.      Isaac   at 
Beer-lahai-roi.      18. 
Territory  of  Ishmael 

- 

xxv.    19,    20.       Mar- 
riage of  Isaac. 

xxv.    26  b.      Age    of 
Isaac. 

xxv.    21-260.    27-34. 
Birth    of   Esau   and 
Jacob.   Sale  of  birth- 
right. 

INTRODUCTION 


59 


p 

J 

E 

xxvi.  34,  35.     Esau's 
wives. 

xxvi.  1-33 l.    Isaac  at 
Gerar ;     strife     and 
covenant     with    A- 
biraelech. 

xxvii.    46.     Plan   for 
Jacob's  marriage. 

xxvii.    1-45.       Jacob    and    Rebekah 
defraud  Esau  of  his  father's  bless- 
ing.    Jacob's  flight. 

IV.    Jacob. 


xxviii.  1-9.  Jacob  sent 
to  Paddan-aram  to 
marry  a  kinswoman. 
Esau  takes  another 
wife,  an  Ishmaelite. 

xxix.  24,  286,  29. 

xxx.  4«,  21,  22  a. 
Jacob  at  Paddan- 
aram. 

xxxi.  18b.  Jacob 
leaves  Paddan-aram 
to  return  to  Isaac. 


xxxv.  6,  9-13,  15. 
Jacob  comes  to  Luz. 
God     blesses     him, 


xxviii.  10-22.     Jacob  at  Beth-el. 


xxix,  xxx  ^rest  o().  Jacob  at  Haran. 
Birth  of  eleven  Patiiarchs  [and 
Dinah],  from  Leah  and  Zilpab, 
Rachel  and  Bilhah.  Jacob  outwits 
Laban  as  to  his  wages. 

xxxi.  i-i8a,  19 — xxxii.  2.  Jacob 
flees  from  Haran,  Laban  overtakes 
him  inGilead;  they  make  a  covenant; 
Jacob  continues  his  journey,  and 
meets  angels  at  Mahanaim. 

xxxii.  3- xxxiii.  17.  Jacob's  wrest- 
ling, and  his  new  name  Israel ;  his 
reconciliation  with  Esau. 

xxxiii.  18-20  \  Jacob  comes  to 
Shechem,  buys  land,  and  builds  an 
altar. 

xxxiv  l.  Dinah  is  seduced  at  She- 
chem ;  Simeon  and  Levi  avenge  her. 
xxxv.  1-5,  7, 
8,  14.   Jacob 


goes  to  Beth - 


In  part. 


00 


THE   BOOK   OF   GENESIS 


Jacob  [cont.). 


p 

J 

E 

and      changes      his 
name  to  Israel.    Ja- 
cob names  the  place 
Beth-el. 

el  and  fulfils 
his         vow. 
Death  of  De- 
borah, Rebe- 
kah's  nurse. 

xxxv.  226-29.  Jacob's 
twelve    sons.       He 
comes    to    Isaac    at 
Hebron  ;  Isaac  dies, 
and    his    sons  bury 
him. 

XXXV.     l6-22fl. 

Rachel  dies; 

Benjamin    is   born  ; 
Reuben's  sin. 

xxxvi.    1-30,    40-43. 
Descen  dants  of  Esau 

xxxvi.  31-39. 
of  Edom. 

Kings 

xxxvii.  1.     Jacob  in 
Canaan. 

V.   Joseph  and  his  Brethren. 


xxxvii.  2a.    Heading. 

xxxvii.      Joseph,    Jacob's    favourite 

Joseph  seventeen. 

son,  is  envied  by  his  brethren,  and 

sold  for  a  slave  into  Egypt. 

xxxviii.   The  story  of 

Tamar    and    Judah 

and  his  sons. 

xxxix.      Joseph   and 

xl.  Joseph  in- 

his master's  l  wife  ; 

terprets  the 

Joseph  in  prison. 

dreams  of 
two  prison- 
ers in  his 
master's  cus- 
tody. 

xli.  46.    Joseph  at  the 

xli.  1-32.  Jo- 

age of  thirty  becomes 

seph     inter- 

vizier of  Egj'pt. 

prets  Phar- 
aoh's dream; 
and 

xli.  33~57-  is  made  vizier  of  Egj'pt, 

The  reference  to  Potiphar  is  due  to  an  editor. 


INTRODUCTION 


61 


p 

J         ■         j            E 

provides  corn  for  the  famine,  mar- 

ries an  Egyptian  wife,  and  has  two 

sons. 

xlii.     The  brethren's  first  journey  to 

Egypt  and  meeting  with  Joseph. 

xliii.    The  brethren's  second  journey 

to  Eg3rpt  and  meeting  with  Joseph. 

xliv.  A  cup  is  hidden 

in  Benjamin's  sack  ; 

he  is  charged  with 

■ 

stealing  it,  and  Jo- 

seph    proposes     to 

keep  him  as  a  slave. 

Judah  intercedes. 

xlv.     Joseph  makes  himself  known, 

and  sends  for  Jacob. 

xlvi.  6,  7.    Jacob  and 

xlvi.    1-5.      Israel    (Jacob     goes   to 

his  family  go  down 

Egypt. 

to  Egypt. 

Jacob  sacri-_ 

ficesatBeer- 

sheba. 

xlvi.  8-27.  The  grand- 

sons of  Jacob. 

xlvii.    5,    6  a,    7-1 1. 

xlvi.  28 — xlvii.  4,  6b, 

Jacob      comes       to 

12.      Joseph   meets 

Joseph ;  he  is   130  ; 

Israel, introduces  his 

he  blesses  Pharaoh. 

brethren  to  Pharaoh. 

Jacob  and  his  family 

They       settle       in 

settle  in  the  land  of 

Goshen. 

Rameses. 

xlvii.  27/;,  28.  Jacob's 

xlvii.  i2-27«,  29-31. 

family  prosper.    He 

Joseph  sells  corn  to 

reaches   the  age  of 

the  Egyptians,   and 

147- 

makes  a  new  settle- 
ment   of    the    land. 
He  promises  to  bury 
Israel  in  Canaan. 

xlviii.    3-6.       Jacob 

xlviii.  1,  2,  7-22.    Israel-Jacob  adopts 

adopts  Ephraim  and 

Ephraim  and  Manasseh, and  bestows 

Manasseh. 

his  chief  blessing  on  Ephraim,  the 

younger  son. 

62  THE   BOOK   OF  GENESIS 

Joseph  and  his  Brethren  {cent). 


xlix.  28-33<7,c.  He 
charges  his  sons  to 
bury  him  at  Mach- 
pelah  and  dies. 

1.  12,  13.  His  sons 
bury  him  at  Mach- 
pelah.  [22  b,  26  a. 
Joseph  dies,  aged 
no  years.  ?  =  E.] 


xlix. 1-27, 336.  Israel- 
Jacob  blesses  his 
twelve  sons  and 
dies. 
I  1.  1-11,  14.  Joseph 
buries  Israel  in  Ca- 
naan at  (?)  Abel- 
mizraim. 


Jo- 


1.  15-26. 

seph  pro- 
mises to 
continue  his 
kindness  to 
his  brethren. 
He  sees  his 
great-grand- 
children. He 
makes  the 
Israelites 
swear  to  take 
his  bones  to 
Canaan.  He 
dies. 


INTRODUCTION  63 


D.  Books  Recommended  as  useful  to  English 
Readers. 

I.     Bible  Dictionaries. 

Dr.  Hastings'  Bible  Dictionary*.     4  vols.  (T.  &  T.  Clark.; 

Encyclopaedia  Biblica*,  Dr.  Cheyne  and  Dr.  J.  S.  Black. 
(A.  &  C.  Black.)  The  simpler  and  easier  articles  and  portions 
of  articles. 

II.    Introduction. 

The  Hexateuch  *,  edited  by  J.  Estlin  Carpenter  and  G.  Har- 
ford-Battersby.     2  vols.  (Longmans.) 

The  first  volume  gives  the  best  English  exposition  of  the 
arguments  for  the  modern  theory  of  the  Pentateuch,  the  theory 
followed  in  this  work.  The  second  volume  gives  the  R.V'. 
of  the  Hexateuch  (Pentateuch  and  Joshua),  arranged  in  parallel 
columns  to  show  the  analysis  into  the  original  documents. 

The  sections  on  the  Pentateuch  and  Genesis  in 

Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament,  Driver 
(T.  &  T.  Clark.) 

A  Biblical  Introduction,  Bennett  and  Adeney.     (Methuen.) 

Primer  of  the  Bible,  Bennett.     (Methuen.) 

III.    Commentaries  on  Genesis. 
Delitzsch,  Eng.  Tr.     (T.  &  T.  Clark.) 
*  Dillmann,  Eng.  Tr.     (T.  &  T.  Clark.) 


•  The  author  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  special  obligations, 
in  addition  to  others  referred  to  in  the  notes,  to  the  works 
marked  with  an  asterisk  *,  and  also  to  the  following  :— 

The  commentaries  on  Genesis  by  Gunkel,  Holzinger,  and 
Spurrell ;  C.  J.  Ball's  edition  of  the  text  of  Genesis  (Dr.  Paul 
Haupt's  Sacred  Books  of  the  Old  Testament)  ;  and  for  informa- 
tion as  to  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  and  other  matters  connected 
with  Assynology,  in  addition  to  the  relevant  sections  of  the 
above  works,  to  Gunkel's  Schdpfung  und  Chaos,  Jensen's 
Assynsch-babylonische  Mythen  und  Epen,  and  J.  D.  Davis's 
Genesis  and  Semitic  Tradition  (Nutt). 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS 


REVISED   VERSION   WITH   ANNOTATIONS 


^i&?^ 


-=-^--  =  -Teh  6-m—  R^a-b'  fra-h=^=-~ 


Gen.  i.  6. — Diagram  of  Primitive  Semite  (Babylonian  or 
Hebrew)  Conception  of  the  Universe. 

This  illustration  is  taken  from  the  article  Cosmogony  by  Rev. 
Principal  Whitehouse,  D.D.,  in  Dr.  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible;  and  our  thanks  are  due  to  Dr.  Whitehouse,  and  to  the 
publishers,  Messrs.  T.  &  T.  Clark,  for  permission  to  use  the  block. 
In  this  article  Dr.  Whitehouse  writes  :  '  The  writer  of  this  article 
sketched  this  outline  from  a  study  of  numerous  Old  Testament 
passages  about  twelve  years  ago,  and  found  in  Jensen's  Cosmologie 
der  Bab.,  published  in  iSgo,  a  diagram  almost  identical  in  character, 
descriptive  of  the  universe  according  to  Babylonian  conceptions,  and 
based  purely  upon  the  data  of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  ' — a  re- 
markable testimony  to  the  correspondence  of  Babylonian  and  Hebrew 
ideas  on  this  subject. 


THE  BOOK  OF  GENESIS 

The  Priestly  (P)  Narrative  of  the  Creation  *. 
i.  i,  2.     The  Primaeval  Chaos. 

i-  3-5-  The  First  Day.  The  creation  of  Light ;  the  institution 
of  Day  and  Night. 

i.  6-8.  The  Second  Day.  The  creation  of  the  'firmament,' 
dividing  the  upper  and  the  lower  waters. 

i.  9-13.  The  Third  Day.  The  formation  of  earth  and  seas  ; 
the  earth  produces  vegetation. 

i.  14-19.  The  Fourth  Day.  The  creation  of  sun,  moon,  and 
stars. 

i.  20-23.  The  Fifth  Day.  The  creation  of  the  living  creatures 
that  inhabit  the  waters,  and  of  the  flying  creatures. 

i.  24-31.  The  Sixth  Day.  The  creation  of  the  living  creatures 
that  live  on  dry  land  ;  the  creation  of  mankind. 

ii.  i-4a.  The  Seventh  Day.  God  rests;  the  institution  of  the 
Sabbath. 

(a)  Form  of  the^  Narrative.  As  in  the  case  of  many  of  the 
priestly  narratives 2,  each  paragraph  of  this  section  is  arranged 
according  to  a  set  formula,  with  the  necessary  variations.  The 
main  features  are  as  follows  : — 

'  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  .  .  .  and  it  was  so  .  .  .  and  saw 
that  it  was  good.  And  there  was  evening  and  there  was  morning, 
a  .  .  .  day.' 

(b)  The  Babylonian  Narrative  of  the  Creation.  It  had  long  been 
known  that  cosmogonies,  or  accounts  of  the  Creation,  having 
much  in  common  with  the  opening  chapters  of  Genesis,  were  once 
current  among  the  Babylonian  and  other  Semitic  peoples.  Until 
recently,  however,  these  accounts  were  chiefly  known  from 
fragments  of  ancient  writers  quoted  by  the  Church  historian 
Eusebius 3.     A   Babylonian   cosmogony  is   given    by    Berosus,  a 


1  See  p.  34.  2  Cf.  p.  34. 

Early  in  the  fourth  century  a.  d. 

F   2 


68  GENESIS 

contemporary  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  a  priest  of  Bel  in 
Babylon  about  b.  c.  280-300. 

Berosus  states  that  in  the  beginning  there  was  a  dark  chaos  of 
waters,  peopled  by  strange  monsters,  and  ruled  by  a  woman 
Thamte.  Bel  cleft  her  in  twain  ;  made  one  half  of  her  earth,  and 
the  other  heaven  ;  and  destroyed  the  monsters.  Then,  to  people 
the  empty  world,  Bel  bade  one  of  the  gods  cut  off  his  (Bel's)  head, 
mix  the  blood  with  the  soil,  and  thus  fashion  men  and  animals. 
Afterwards — apparently  in  no  way  incommoded  by  this  operation 
— Bel  formed  the  heavenly  bodies  l, 

Eusebius  also  gives  fragments  of  a  Phoenician  cosmogony  taken 
from  the  works  of  Philo  of  Byblus  in  Phoenicia,  who  lived  in 
the  time  of  Nero  and  his  successors.  Philo  professes  to  translate 
an  ancient  Phoenician  history  by  Sanchoniathon,  a  possibly  mythi- 
cal personage,  supposed  to  have  lived  at  a  remote  antiquity, 
perhaps  in  the  time  of  the  Judges. 

As  far  as  can  be  gathered  from  the  obscure  fragments  extant, 
this  cosmogony  begins  with  Chaos  and  Spirit ;  the  appearance  of 
Desire  led  to  the  formation  of  Mot,  the  Abyss  of  Waters.  An  egg 
was  formed  ;  heavenly  bodies,  sun,  moon,  &c,  appeared  ;  and 
then  animal  life  was  produced  on  the  earth. 

An  account  of  the  Babylonian  cosmogony  is  also  quoted  from 
the  Neo-Platonist  philosopher  Damascius2.  This  is  in  the  form  of 
a  genealogy  of  gods,  mostly  in  pairs,  and  these  are  interpreted  as 
personifications  of  the  different  parts  of  the  universe  at  its 
successive  stages.  The  first  pair  are  Apason  the  father,  and  Tanthe 
the  mother  of  the  gods  ;  and  the  genealogy  concludes  with  Belos, 
the  creator  of  the  world  as  it  now  is. 

But  these  late,  obscure,  and  imperfect  accounts  can  now  be 
corrected  and  supplemented  by  Babylonian  documents  written 
nearly  six  hundred  years  before  Christ  ;  and  it  is  maintained  that 
the  cosmogony  found  in  these  documents  can  be  traced,  at  any 
rate  in  its  main  features,  as  early  as  b.  c.  3000. 

In  1875,  the  late  Mr.  George  Smith  discovered,  among  the  ruins 
of  the  library  of  Ashurbanipal  at  Nineveh,  portions  of  a  series  of 
tablets  containing  in  cuneiform  character  the  Assyrian  or  Baby- 
lonian account  of  the  Creation.  Other  portions  have  been  dis- 
covered since,  but  we  do  not  even  now  possess  the  complete  series. 

This  cosmogony  may  be  summarized  thus  : — 

It  begins  with  a  primaeval  chaos  ruled  over  by  Apsu,  the  ocean, 
the  father,  and  Tiamat,  the  abyss,  the  mother.  Apsu  is  the 
Apason  of  Damascius ;  and  Tiamat  is  the  Tanthe  of  Damascius 

1  Probably,  if  we  had  the  original  text  of  Berosus,  we  should  find 
either  that  Eusebius  has  misquoted  him,  or  that  there  is  some 
explanation  of  these  remarkable  proceedings. 

2  About  a.d.  529. 


i.  i — ii.  4tt.     P  69 

and  the  Thamte  of  Berosus.  Then  the  various  gods  appeared; 
the  parallel  accounts  we  have  referred  to,  together  with  some 
expressions  in  the  cuneiform  documents,  suggest  that  they  were 
born  of  Apsu  and  Tiamat.  The  succeeding  portion  of  the  tablets 
is  lost,  and  we  next  meet  with  a  long  account  of  a  struggle 
between  the  upper  deities  on  the  one  hand,  and  Tiamat  and  the 
lower  deities  on  the  other.  Marduk  or  Merodach,  the  great 
Babylonian  deity  also  known  as  Bel,  stands  forth  as  champion  of 
the  upper  deities ;  slays  Tiamat  and  divides  her  body  into  two 
parts.  Of  one  half  he  made  a  covering  for  the  heavens,  to  prevent 
the  upper  waters  from  breaking  loose.  He  placed  the  heavens 
opposite  the  seas.  Then  he  appointed  places  for  the  great  gods, 
and  arranged  the  stars  to  measure  months  and  years1.  The 
series  of  tablets  concludes  with  a  hymn  in  honour  of  Marduk, 
which  describes  him  as  '  bringing  the  dead  to  life  .  .  .  creating 
mankind.  .  .  punishing  evil-doers  .  .  .  working  righteousness.' 

Another  fragment  of  a  tablet  usualiy  regarded  as  belonging  to 
this  series,  though  its  position  in  the  series  is  not  certain,  speaks 
of  Marduk  creating  'cattle,  wild  beasts,  and  creeping  things.' 

The  number  of  the  tablets  is  uncertain  ;  it  has  been  estimated  at 
either  six  or  seven. 

There  is  another  Babylonian  account  of  the  Creation  which 
will  be  referred  to  in  connexion  with  chapter  ii. 

Comparison  shows  that  this  Babylonian  narrative,  and  the 
cosmogonies  of  Berosus,  Philo  Byblius,  and  Damascius  are 
versions  of  the  same  original,  and  that  the  latter  writers  may  be 
used,  with  caution,  to  supply  gaps  in  the  series  of  cuneiform  tablets. 
It  is  also  clear  that  Gen.  i.  1 — ii.  4a  is  yet  another  parallel  version. 
Details  will  be  mentioned  in  the  following  notes,  but  we  may  call 
attention  here  to  the  general  resemblances  and  differences.  In 
both  we  have  the  primaeval  chaos ;  a  sentence  in  Berosus  seems 
to  imply  that  light  existed  before  Marduk  formed  the  heavenly 
bodies.  In  both  there  is  the  division  between  heaven  and  earth, 
and  the  half  of  the  body  of  Tiamat  seems  to  correspond  to  the 
'firmament'  in  Genesis.  In  both  the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  mark  off  periods  of  time.  Berosus,  too,  speaks  of  men  as 
i  partaking  of  Divine  thought,'  which  may  perhaps  correspond  to 
the  making  of  men  'in  the  image  of  God.'  Other  parallelisms 
which  have  been  drawn  are  doubtful. 

The  differences  are  no  less  striking,  and  need  not  be  fully 
enumerated.  The  use  of  recurring  formulae,  and  the  methodical 
division  into  days,  each  with  its  separate  creative  act  or  acts,  are 
absent  from  the  tablets.     The  Babylonian  order  of  the  making  of 


The  tablets  are  imperfect  at  this  point,  and  the  connexion 
between  the  gods  and  the  stars  is  not  clear,  but  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  latter  are  spoken  of  as  measurers  of  time. 


70  GENESIS 

things  is  not  yet  clearly  ascertained  ;  but  apparently  it  differed 
from  that  in  Genesis,  as  the  heavenly  bodies  are  spoken  of  before 
the  dry  land.  But  the  one  important  difference  is  that  the 
Babylonian  account  revels  in  myths  concerning  the  doings  of 
multitudinous  gods,  demons,  and  monsters,  while  Genesis  gives  us 
an  almost  scientific '  account  of  creation  by  one  God  ;  the  mythi- 
cal features  have  been  carefully  removed,  and  can  only  be  traced 
in  a  few  phrases.  There  is  another  curious  difference :  the 
Babylonian  account  contains  certain  moral  features,  the  description 
of  the  character  of  Marduk  ;  and,  perhaps,  certain  moral  admoni- 
tions addressed  to  the  newly  created  man  2.  These  features  are 
absent  from  the  Biblical  cosmogony  ;  the  moral  nature  of  God  is 
not  expressly  described,  and  the  admonitions  to  mankind  are  not 
concerned  with  morality.  We  trust  it  will  not  seem  paradoxical 
to  say  that  the  narrative  gains  by  this  omission  ;  the  brief  stor}'  is 
the  more  impressive  because  it  is  confined  to  its  one  great  subject 
of  creation  ;  the  writer  knew  that  he  would  have  ample  oppor- 
tunity to  deal  with  ethics  later  on.  Nevertheless  his  interest  in 
the  minutiae  of  ritual 3  makes  itself  felt  even  here  ;  a  paragraph 4 
is  devoted  to  the  directions  as  to  food,  and  creation  finds  its  climax 
in  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath  5. 

(c)  The  relation  of  the  Babylonian  and  the  Scriptural  cosmogonies. 
The  comparison  of  the  cuneiform  tablets  with  the  opening  section 
of  Genesis  shows  that  these  documents  cannot  be  wholly  inde- 
pendent ;  there  must  be  some  literary  connexion  between  them. 
The  great  antiquity  of  the  story  told  by  the  tablets,  and  the 
comparatively  recent  date  of  the  work  from  which  Gen.  i.  is 
taken c,  show  that  the  Babylonian  mythologists  cannot  have 
borrowed  from  Genesis.  Moreover,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that 
a  myth  in  which  the  gods  are  evolved  from  Chaos  would  be 
elaborated  out  of  an  account  of  the  Creation  in  which  God  appears 
as  pre-existent  and  creating  all  things.  The  object  of  the  Baby- 
lonian epic  is  to  do  honour  to  the  great  god  of  Babylon  ;  and  if  its 
authors  had  had  Genesis  before  them,  they  would  have  been  eager 
to  ascribe  to  Merodach  the  unique  majesty  which  Genesis  assigns 
to  God. 

It  is,  however,  often  held  that  Gen.  i.  i — ii.  4a  is  an  edition  of 
the  cosmogony  of  the  tablets,  purged  of  its  polytheistic  myths.  r 
The  Priestly  Document  was  composed  in  Babylon  after  the  Fall 
of  Jerusalem;  and  its  authors  might  easily  have  studied  some  such 
tablets  as    those  which  have  been  discovered  in  the  library  of 

1  According  to  the  knowledge  of  the  times. 

2  See  article  Creation,  §  6  note  (Cheyne),  in  Cheyne  and  Black's 
Encyclopaedia  Biblica. 

3  See  p.  36.  *  Gen.  i.  29,  30.  5  Gen.  ii.  1-3. 

6  See  p.  35.  1 


1.   I — U.    4a.       P  71 

Ashurbanipal ;  or  they  might  have  heard  some  version  of  the 
ancient  myths  from  their  Babylonian  neighbours. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  two  cosmo- 
gonies are  independent  developments  from  an  ancient  myth  which 
was  current  amongst  the  common  Semitic  ancestors  of  the 
Israelites  and  the  Babylonians. 

Probably  the  truth  lies  between  these  two  views.  The  latter 
seems  excluded  by  the  close  resemblances  of  the  two  narratives  ; 
the  former  by  the  intimate  connexion  between  Israel,  Assyria, 
and  Babylon  *  in  many  periods  long  before  the  Exile.  Even  before 
B.C.  2000  the  influence  of  Babylonian  civilization  seems  to  have 
extended  over  Western  Asia,  including  Syria  and  Palestine. 
Perhaps  the  most  convincing  testimony  to  this  fact  is  found  in  the 
Amarna  tablets.  These  are  a  collection  of  Eg3*ptian  archives 
recently  discovered  at  Tel-el-Amarna  in  the  Nile  Valley.  They 
consist  of  dispatches  from  the  Egyptian  officials  and  subject-princes 
in  Palestine  and  Phoenicia,  and  from  the  kings  of  Babylon  and 
other  rulers  of  Western  Asia  to  the  Pharaohs,  Amenophis  III  and 
IV,  c.  B.  c.  1414-1365.  These  dispatches  are,  for  the  most  part, 
in  Babylonian  cuneiform  ;  and  are  written  on  tablets  of  baked  clay, 
after  the  fashion  of  Babylonian  documents.  Babylonian,  therefore, 
was  the  language  of  diplomacy,  the  lingua  franca  of  Western  Asia. 
Again,  at  a  later  time,  the  states  in  the  Valley  of  the  Euphrates 
regained  their  supremacy  over  Palestine  ;  from  the  time  of  Jehu 
till  the  Captivity  the  Israelite  kingdoms  paid  tribute  to  Nineveh 
or  Babylon.  One  can  hardly  believe  that  the  Babylonian  epic  of 
the  Creation  was  unknown  to  the  Israelites  till  after  the  Fall  of 
Jerusalem  ;  it  is  more  probable  that  it  was  current  in  Canaan  from 
a  very  early  time,  and  had  become  part  of  the  folklore  of  the 
country,  and  ultimately  of  Israel.  It  would  be  modified  by  the 
development  of  religious  ideas  amongst  the  Israelites  ;  and  Gen.  i. 
1 — ii.  4a  represents  the  form  it  received  during  the  Exile  from  the 
authors  of  the  Priestly  Document. 

There  is,  moreover,  direct  evidence  in  the  O.T.  that  the  Israelites 
were  acquainted  with  the  Babylonian  Creation  epic.  It  has  been 
pointed  out2  that  several  writers  use  the  imagery  of  the  contest 
of  Merodach,  the  God  of  Light,  with  Tiamat,  the  monstrous  Queen 
of  Darkness  and  Chaos,  to  describe  the  warfare  of  God  against  evil. 
Thus  Yahweh  ;  cut  Rahab  in  pieces.' and  <  pierced  the  dragon  z ' ; 
in  the  last  day  He  will  '  punish  leviathan  and  slay  the  dragon  that 
is  in  the  sea4' ;  He  has  'broken  the  heads  of  the  dragons  in  the 

1  Assyria  and  Babylon  were  so  closely  connected  in  language  and 
religion,  that  for  the  purpose  of  our  present  discussion  they  were 
virtually  one. 

2  Especially  by  Gunkel  in  his  Schbpfung  und  Chaos. 

3  Isa.  Ii.  9.  4  Isa.  xxvii.  1. 


72  GENESIS 

waters/  and  '  broken  the  heads  of  leviathan  in  pieces1.'     Many 
similar  passages  might  be  quoted. 

(d)  Egyptian  Doctrines  of  Creation.  According  to  the  Book  of 
the  Dead,  Turn,  the  sun-god  of  Heliopolis,  was  the  creator,  and  it 
is  said  of  him  that  he  is  '  the  creator  of  the  heavens,  the  maker  of 
all  existences,  who  has  begotten  all  that  there  is,  who  gave  birth 
to  the  gods,  who  created  himself,  the  lord  of  life  who  bestows 
upon  the  gods  the  strength  of  youth  V  In  the  hymns  in  honour 
of  another  sun-god,  Aten-Ra,  composed  in  the  reign  of  the  royal 
reformer  Khu-en-Aten,  c.  b.  c.  1400,  it  is  said  of  Aten-Ra, 
1  besides  whom  there  is  no  other,'  that  he  created  all  things, 
1  the  far-off  heavens,  mankind,  the  animals,  the  birds ' ;  it  is  he 
'who  brings  in  the  years,  creates  the  months,  makes  the  days, 
reckons  the  hours ' ;  and  it  seems  as  if  Khu-en-Aten  meant  that 
'  the  idea  that  he  was  one  God,  the  God  living  in  truth,'  was  to  be 
an  article  of  real  faith,  and  no  longer  merely  a  phrase  3.  Such 
views,  however,  existed  side  byside,  andwere  sometimes  professed 
concurrently  with  crude  polytheistic  myths  on  the  same  subject, 
e.  g.  that  the  universe  was  born  out  of  the  egg  laid  by  the  goose 
sacred  to  the  god  Seb 4 ;  a  view  which  would  have  commended  itself 
to  Carlyle. 

(e)  The  Relation  to  Modern  Science.  It  was  formerly  the  custom, 
in  discussing  the  opening  chapters  of  Genesis,  to  compare 
their  statements  with  the  results  of  scientific  research.  One 
writer  would  assert  that  the  views  of  !  science  falsely  so-called ' 
must  be  rejected  because  they  did  not  square  with  Scripture  ; 
another  would  be  equally  certain  that  the  Bible  and  science 
could  not  be  reconciled,  but  would  maintain  that  the  preference 
must  be  given  to  science  ;  while  a  third  would  perform  miracles 
of  exegesis  in  order  to  show  that  the  language  of  Genesis  was 
consistent  with  modern  astronomy  and  geology.  Now,  however, 
the  progress  of  Christian  thought  relieves  us  from  the  necessity  of 
any  such  discussion.  Most  theologians  recognize  that  Revelation 
did  not  intend  to  communicate  information  as  to  science.  In  such 
matters  the  inspired  authors  were  allowed  to  write  according  to 
their  education  and  the  knowledge  of  their  times,  just  as  they 
were  in  matters  of  grammar  and  literary  taste.  The  Holy  Spirit 
no  more  corrected  their  science  than  their  spelling.  Hence,  as  the 
Bible  does  not  claim  to  be  inspired  as  to  geology  or  astronomy, 
its  authority  in  no  way  depends  on  the  accuracy  of  its  statements 
on   these   subjects5.       The    first    narrative   of  the   Creation,    for 

1  Ps.  lxxiv.  14. 

2  Sayce,  Religions  of  Ancient  Egypt  and  Babylonia,  p.  83. 

3  Erman,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  Eng.  tr.  &o,  p.  262. 

4  Sayce,  Religions,  &c,  p.  129. 

5  The  above   is   not   to  be   taken   as   an   exact   and    exhaustive 


GENESIS   1.  i.     P  73 

[P]  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  1 

instance,  teaches  us  the  relation  of  the  Universe  and  Man  to  God  ; 
the  exact  sequence  of  physical  phenomena  is  no  part  of  its 
religious  teaching ;  this  latter  is  the  mere  form  of  the  narrative, 
with  which  inspiration  was  not  concerned x. 

For  the  initials  in  the  text  in  square  brackets  and  at  the  tops  of  the 
pages  see  Table  p.  52. 

1.  It  is  generally  considered  that  this  section  originally  began 
with  ii.  4%  'These  are  the  generations  .  .  .  created,'  as  a  heading ; 
cf.  the  notes  on  that  verse. 

Ill  the  "beginning".  No  article  is  expressed  in  the  Hebrew,  but 
it  is  probably  implied  by  the  construction.  This  exordium  is 
imitated  in  John  i.  1,  2,  and  1  John  i.  1,  and  the  article  is  not 
expressed  in  either  of  these  passages. 

In  the  beginning  God2  created.  The  E.  V.  rendering 
constitutes  the  first  verse  a  summary  of  the  whole  account ;  it 
tells  us  that  God  created  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  following 
verses  describe  in  detail  how  they  were  created.  But  a  more 
probable  rendering  is  '  In  the  beginning  when  God  created  .  . .  and 
when  the  earth  was  waste  .  .  .  God  said,  Let  there  be  light  .  .  .,' 
i.  e.  the  beginning  of  God's  creating  the  ordered  heaven  and  earth 
from  the  primaeval  chaos  was  the  Divine  utterance,  i  Let  there  be 
light.' 

created.  The  Hebrew  word3  is  a  late  and  comparatively 
rare  word  ;  it  is  chiefly  if  not  entirely  found  in  exilic  and  post- 
exilic  writings  4,  and  is  one  of  the  characteristic  words  of  the 
Priestly  Document.  It  is  a  special  term  of  the  Divine  making  of 
what  is  new  and  wonderful,  but  does  not  in  itself  necessarily 
express  creation  out  of  nothing.  According  to  the  more  probable 
view  of  this  passage,  the  Creation  started,  not  from  nothing,  but 
from  the  primaeval  chaos  ;  the  author  did  not  trouble  himself  as  to 
the  origin  of  this  chaos.  This  view  was  still  taken  by  the  author 
of  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon',  who  speaks  of  Wisdom  creating  the 
world  'out  of  formless  matter.'  But  2  Maccabees*  speaks  of  God 
creating   heaven    and    earth    <  not    of    things    that    were '  ;    and 

statement  of  technical  dogmatics,  but  as  a  popular,  practical 
application  of  a  view  that  is  widely  held. 

1  For  a  comparison  of  the  two  accounts  of  the  Creation,  see  on 
Gen.  ii.  ^-2$. 

2  For  '  God '  see  on  ii.  4,  p.  22.  3  Bard'. 

4  The  Priestly  Document  (P),  2  Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  post-exilic  Psalms, 
&c.     It  is  also  found  in  some  passages  that  may  be  pre-exilic. 

5  About  B.C.  100;  xi.  17,  E.V. 

6  About  B.C.  125-A.  d.  70;  vii.  28. 


74  GENESIS   1.  2,3.     P 

2  earth.     And  the  earth  was  waste  and  void  ;  and  darkness 
was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep :  and  the  spirit  of  God 

3  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.     And  God  said,  Let 

similarly  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  says  of  the  Creation l,  '  What  is 
seen  hath  not  been  made  out  of  things  which  do  appear.' 

2.  waste  and  void:  Heb.  Tohu  wabhohu,  a  compound  ex-  '-1 
pression,  fairly  represented  by  our  '  chaos,'  or  by  the  'formless 
matter'  of  Wisdom.  The  phrase  only  occurs  elsewhere  in  Isa. 
xxxiv.  n,  in  the  description  of  the  ruin  of  Edom,  '  he  shall  stretch 
over  it  the  line  of  confusion  (tohu),  and  the  plummet  of  emptiness 
(bohu)S  and  in  Jer.  iv.  23,  'I  beheld  the  earth,  and,  lo,  it  was 
waste  and  void;  and  the  heavens,  and  they  had  no  light.'  A 
Phoenician  cosmogony  2  begins  with  the  Wind  3  and  his  wife  Baau, 
who  is  generally  regarded  as  corresponding  to  the  Bohu  of  our 
passage. 

the  deep :  Heb.  Tehom,  the  primaeval  abyss,  which  the 
Semitic  cosmogonies  personify  as  Tiamat,  or  Tanthe,  or  Thamte, 
the  arch-enemy  of  the  heavenly  gods. 

the  spirit  of  <xod.  According  to  another  cosmogony  of  Philo 
Byblius  the  first  beings  were  Spirit  (Pncuma)  and  Chaos.  '  Spirit ' 
is  literally  '  wind '  ;  cf.  above. 

moved  upon:  R.  V.  marg.,  'was  brooding  upon.'  The  Hebrew 
word4  only  occurs  twice  elsewhere,  Deut.  xxxii.  ir,  of  an  eagle 
'that  fluttereth  over  her  young,'  and  Jer.  xxiii.  9,  'my  bones 
shake5.'  The  root  is  found  in  Aramaic,  sometimes  of  a  bird 
hatching  an  egg.  Perhaps  the  phraseology  here  retains  a 
reminiscence  of  the  form  of  the  cosmogony  in  which  heaven  and 
earth  were  produced  from  the  world-egg. 

For  this  primaeval  chaos  consisting  of  an  abyss  of  waters  lying 
in  darkness,  cf.  in  the  opening  of  the  Babylonian  epic  : — 
'When  heaven  was  not  named  above, 
And  earth  below  had  made  itself  no  name, 
Apsu  (the  ocean),  the  primaeval,  that  begat  them, 
And  mu-um-mu6  Tiamat,  that  bare  them, 
Mixed  their  waters  together. 

1 

Not  one  of  the  gods  had  yet  arisen.' 

And  in  Berosus  :     '  Primarily  all    consisted   of  darkness   and 

1  xi.  3.  "  Quoted  by  Eusebius  from  Philo  Byblius. 

3  Anernos.  4  Merahepheth. 

5  The  word  in  Jeremiah  is  sometimes  treated  as  a  different  root  of 
•   the  same  form. 

6  A    word     of    uncertain    meaning,    perhaps    synonymous    with 
'  primaeval.' 


GENESIS   1.  4,5-     P  75 

there  be  light :  and  there  was  light.     And  God  saw  the  4 
light,  that  it  was  good :  and  God  divided  the  light  from 
the  darkness.     And  God  called  the  light  Day,  and  the  5 

water,  and  strange  creatures  of  peculiar  form,  arose  therein.  .  ,  . 
Over  them  reigned  a  woman  .  .  .  Thamte.' 

3.  And  God  said.  The  cuneiform  speaks  of  the  'word'  of 
Merodach  ;  no  god  can  alter  that  which  he  ordains. 

light.  Merodach  or  Marduk,  the  creator,  according  to  the 
Babylonians,  of  heaven  and  earth,  was  a  solar  deity-  and  his 
appearance  is  often  interpreted  as  the  appearance  of  li*ret  at  the 
beginning  of  creation. 

Light  is  thought  of  here  as  a  thing  in  itself,  independe/n  t>f  the 
heavenly  luminaries.     Cf.  Job  xxxviii.  19,  20  : — 

'  Where  is  the  way  to  the  dwelling  of  light, 
And  as  for  darkness,  where  is  the  place  thereof; 
That  thou  shouldest  take  it  to  the  bound  thereof. 
And  that   thou  shouldest  discern  the   paths  to   the  house 
thereof?' 

So,  according  to  the  Gnostics1,  Light  was  an  emanation  from 
the  Aeon  Sophia  or  Wisdom.  Cf.  also  with  the  antithesis  of 
light  and  darkness,  the  Zoroastrian  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman,  the 
deities  or  principles  of  light  and  darkness. 

and  there  was  light.  The  word,  the  command  of  God  suffices. 
Thus  the  idea  of  light  as  one  of  a  series  of  emanations  from  the 
primaeval  Being  or  from  matter  is  excluded,  together  with  the 
mythical  machinery  of  the  polytheistic  cosmogonies.  Cf.  below  on 
verse  4. 

4.  good :  useful,  suitable  for  the  work  for  which  it  was  designed  ; 
the  <  it ?  (not  in  the  Heb. )  refers  to  the  whole  result  of  each 
creative  act. 

divided  the  light  from  the  darkness.  The  work  of  creation 
is  largely  thought  of  as  the  unravelling  and  setting  in  due  order 
of  what  was  entangled  or  confused  in  the  primaeval  chaos  ;  the 
light  is  separated  from  the  darkness,  the  upper  from  the  lower 
waters  (verse  6),  the  waters  from  the  dry  land  (verse  9),  the  day 
from  the  night  (verse  14).  This  is  the  view  of  the  original 
narrative  ;  the  idea  in  verse  5  of  light  as  new,  springing  into 
existence  at  the  word  of  God,  is  a  modification  introduced  by  the 
inspired  writer,  who  has  not,  however,  cared  to  correct  the  older 
phraseology  throughout. 

5.  God  called  the  light  Day,  &c.  This  statement  need  not 
be    explained    away    as    meaning    '  called    into    existence,'    or 

1  Irenaeus  I.  1.  7. 


76  GENESIS   1.  6, 7.     P 

darkness  he  called  Night.  And  there  was  evening  and 
there  was  morning,  one  day. 

6  And  God  said.  Let  there  be  a  firmament  in  the  midst 
of  the  waters,   ard  let  it  divide  the   waters  from  the 

7  waters.     And  God  made  the   firmament,  and   divided  f 

'  appointed ' ;  but  should  be  taken  in  its  natural  sense,  God  gave 
to  the  period  of  light  the  name  Day,  &c.  The  '  name '  was  not 
thought  »f  as  something  trivial  and  accidental,  but  as  bound  up 
with  tJp  Mature  and  being  of  the  thing  named  ;  hence  the  great 
impo*"  ace  attached  to  the  'name'  of  God;  cf.  such  phrases  as 
f  fore  .ay  name's  sake.'  ^ 

e"vening-  .  .  .  morning'.  The  author  fellows  the  arrangement 
in  use  amongst  the  Jews  in  his  time,  by  which  the  day  was 
reckoned  from  sunset  to  sunset.  Possibly  the  primaeval  darkness 
is  thought  of  as  the  first  evening. 

one  day,  not  first  day,  as  the  second,  third,  &c.  of  the  follow- 
ing paragraphs  ;  perhaps  because  the  author  wishes  to  emphasize 
the  fact  that  evening  and  morning  made  a  day  ;  or  '  one  day '  may 
be  just  an  equivalent  for  the  '  first  day.'  In  Gen.  viii.  5,  a  portion 
of  the  same  document,  P.  "first  of  the  month'  is  literally  'one  of 
the  month.' 

day  :  often  explained  in  this  chapter  as  a  figurative  expression 
for  a  long  period  (cf.  2  Pet.  iii.  8,  '  One  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a 
thousand  years,'  and  Ps.  xc.  4),  but  the  whole  passage  shows 
that  the  author  thought  of  ordinary  days. 

6.  firmament:  R.  V.  marg.  'expanse,'  Heb.  raqia.  Firmament 
is  from  the  Vulgate  jirmamentitm,  which  is  an  exact  etymological 
equivalent  of  the  Septuagint  stereoma.  The  root  is  used  in 
Hebrew  and  Aramaic  in  the  sense  of  '  make  firm'  ;  also  specializ- 
ing in  Hebrew  into  the  senses  of  '  beat,  stamp,  beat  out  (metal) 
into  plates.'  This  '  firmament '  is  a  solid  dome  upholding  the 
upper  waters.  Cf.  the  '  paved  work  of  sapphire  stone  '  which 
Moses  saw  under  the  feet  of  the  God  of  Israel1 ;  and  the  'firma- 
ment '  which  Ezekiel  saw  supporting  the  throne  of  God 2,  and  the 
'  vault '  which  God  '  hath  founded  upon  the  earth  V  Heaven  is  1 
also  said  to  have  '  pillars 4 ' ;  and  we  read  : — 

'  Canst  thou  with  him  spread  out  the  sky, 
Which  is  strong  as  a  molten  mirror5?' 

The  idea  of  the  heavens  as  solid  or  metallic  is  also  found  in 
classical  writers. 

1  Exod.  xxiv.  10.  2  Ezek.  i.  26.  3  Amos  ix.  6,  R.V. 

4  Job  xxvi.  11.  5  Job  xxxvii.  18. 


GENESIS   1.  8,9.     P  77 

the  waters  which  were  under  the  firmament  from  the 
waters  which  were  above  the  firmament :  and  it  was  so. 
And  God  called  the  firmament  Heaven.     And  there  was  8 
evening  and  there  was  morning,  a  second  day. 

And  God  said,  Let  the  waters  under  the  heaven  be  9 
gathered  together  unto  one  place,  and  let  the  dry  land 

7.  God  made  the  firmament,  and  divided  the  waters  which 
were  under  the  firmament  from  the  waters  which  were  above 
the  firmament.     Cf.  in  the  Babylonian  epic  : — 

^        '  He  (Merodach)  divided  it  (the  corpse  of  Tiamat)  ...  in  two  ; 
Made  one  half  of  it  a  covering  for  heaven  ; 
Inserted  a  bolt,  and  placed  a  watchman, 
And  bade  him  not  to  allow  its  waters  to  escape. 
He  traversed  the  heavens,  .  .  . 
And  placed  it  opposite  the  Ocean  (Apsu).' 

In  Ps.  cxlviii.  4  we  again  meet  with  the  '  waters  that  be  above 
the  heavens.'  So,  too,  in  the  Egyptian  mythology,  there  is  a 
'  river  of  heaven  '  over  which  Ra,  the  sun-god,  voyages  in  his 
boat ;  and  the  upper  or  heavenly  waters  are  also  found  in  other 
mythologies. 

According  to  the  LXX  and  the  analogy  of  the  other  para- 
graphs, the  clause  '  and  it  was  so '  should  be  transferred  from  the 
end  of  verse  7  to  the  end  of  verse  6.  The  statement  that  the 
Divine  command  was  fulfilled  follows  immediately  on  the  Divine 
utterance  ;  cf.  on  verse  20. 

Note  the  absence  of  the  usual  clause  '  and  God  saw  that  it  was 
good.'  No  satisfactory  reason  has  been  given  for  the  omission. 
The  LXX  contains  the  clause  in  verse  8,  after  '  called  the  firma- 
ment heaven.'  Perhaps  this  was  the  original  reading,  and  the 
words  were  accidentally  omitted. 

9.  one  place.  The  LXX  has  'one  gathering,'  and  also 
after  'and  it  was  so  '  adds  'and  the  water  under  the  heaven  was 
gathered  into  their  gatherings,  and  the  dry  land  appeared.' 
These  readings  are  accepted  by  many  scholars.  In  the  other 
paragraphs  the  words  '  and  it  was  so  '  are  followed  by  some 
further  statement  as  to  what  happened. 

In  Jer.  v.  22  Yahweh  places  '  the  sand  for  the  bound  of  the  sea ' ; 
and  in  Job  xxxviii.  8,  10,  He  shuts  up  '  the  sea  with  doors.' 

The  appearing  of  the  dry  land  suggests  to  us  either  the  receding 
of  the  waters  or  the  uprising  of  the  land,  but  the  analogy  of  the 
earlier  verses  seems  to  show  that  earth  and  water  formed  one 
confused  mass,  which  were  separated  by  the  Divine  word. 


78  GENESIS    1.   10-14.     P 

10  appear :  and  it  was  so.  And  God  called  the  dry  land 
Earth ;  and  the  gathering  together  of  the  waters  called 

11  he  Seas  :  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good.  And  God  said, 
Let  the  earth  put  forth  grass,  herb  yielding  seed,  a?id 
fruit  tree  bearing  fruit  after  its  kind,  wherein  is  the  seed  V 

12  thereof,  upon  the  earth :  and  it  was  so.  And  the  earth 
brought  forth  grass,  herb  yielding  seed  after  its  kind, 
and  tree  bearing  fruit,  wherein  is  the  seed  thereof,  after 

13  its  kind :  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good.  And  there 
was  evening  and  there  was  morning,  a  third  day. 

14  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  lights  in  the  firmament  of  * 
the  heaven  to  divide  the  day  from  the  night ;  and  let 

11.  Let  tlie  earth  put  forth  grass,  &c.  There  are  two 
distinct  creative  acts  on  the  third  day,  the  formation  of  sea  and 
land,  and  the  production  of  vegetation.  This  arrangement  is 
necessitated  by  the  author's  scheme  of  seven  days,  the  last  of 
which  is  a  day  of  rest. 

With  the  exception  of  one  doubtful  clause,  the  origin  of  vegeta- 
tion is  not  given  in  the  extant  portions  of  the  Creation  epic  most 
closely  akin  to  Gen.  i.  1 — ii.  4a;  but  is  found  in  the  alternative 
Babylonian  account  described  in  connexion  with  Gen.  ii,  see 
especially  on  ii.  8,  9. 

grass:  Heb.  deshe\  here  used  as  a  general  term  for 
vegetation,  including  herbage  and  trees  ;  perhaps  because  the 
trees  are  thought  of  as  first  appearing  as  tender,  green  shoots. 

herb  yielding  seed.  Grain-producing  corn,  &c,  for  food,  as 
well  as  for  seed  of  new  plants. 

After  'seed'  the  LXX  adds  'after  its  kind.'     Cf.  below. 

after  its  kind.  The  LXX  places  these  words  after  l  seed 
thereof.'  The  meaning  of  this  phrase  is  that  God  created  all  the 
various  kinds  of  grass,  trees,  and  of  the  living  creatures  which 
inhabit  the  air  and  the  waters  (verse  21)  and  the  earth  (verse  24).    , 

wherein  is  the  seed  thereof,  should  immediately  follow 
'fruit,'  as  in  the  LXX.     Cf.  above. 

i.  14.  On  the  first  three  days,  heaven,  earth,  and  seas  are  made 
ready  for  their  inhabitants  ;  in  the  second  three  days  the  inhabitants 
of  these  several  regions  are  created1. 

14.  lights:  luminaries,  Heb.  me'oYoth. 

to  divide  the  day  from  the  night.     The  light  has  already 

1  So  Holzinger  in  loco. 


GENESIS   I.  15-18.     P  79 

them  be  for  signs,  and  for  seasons,  and  for  days  and 
years  :  and  let  them  be  for  lights  in  the  firmament  of  the  15 
heaven  to  give  light  upon  the  earth :   and  it  was  so. 
And  God  made  the  two  great  lights  ;  the  greater  light  to  16 
rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  Jight  to  rule  the  night :  he 
made  the  stars  also.     And  God  set  them  in  the  firmament  17 
of  the  heaven  to  give  light  upon  the  earth,  and  to  rule  18 
over  the  day  and  over  the  night,  and  to  divide  the  light 
from   the   darkness :    and  God   saw   that  it  was  good. 

been  divided  from  the  darkness,  and  there  has  been  the  alternation 
of  evening  and  morning  ;  but  the  day  and  night  are  now  more 
clearly  marked  off  from  one  another  by  the  appearance  of  the  sun 
by  day  and  the  moon  and  the  stars  by  night. 

14, 15.  let  them  be  for  sig-ns,  &c.  The  heavenly  bodies  are 
not  thought  of,  as  they  were  by  the  Babylonians  and  others, 
sometimes  even  by  Israelites,  as  deities  or  the  abodes  of  deities  ; 
but  simply  as  (a)  having  astronomical  and  possibly  astrological 
uses,  fixing  the  calendar  and  enabling  men  to  measure  the  lapse  of 
time  ;  and  (b)  as  heavenly  lamps,  giving  light  by  day  and  night. 

14.  the  heaven  :  here  the  LXX  and  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch 
insert  •  to  give  light  upon  the  earth,  and  to  rule  over  the  day  and 
I  the  night.' 

signs :  Heb.  -othoth,  often  used  of  a  miraculous  sign,  e.  g.  of 
the  transformation  of  Moses'  rod  into  a  serpent1;  also  applied 
to  the  rainbow  as  a  sign  that  God  would  not  again  destroy  the 
world  by  a  flood 2.  It  might  possibly  indicate  a  belief  in  astro- 
logy ;  but  the  Israelites  do  not  seem  to  have  been  much  given  to 
that  pseudo-science,  and  'star-gazers'  are  only  mentioned  to  be 
condemned  3.  Hence  '  signs '  are  better  understood  as  referring 
to  time,  weather,  &c. 

seasons :  Heb.  mo'adhim,  fixed  times,  i.  e.  festivals,  &c. 

16.  to  rule :    here   figurative  ;   the  sun   by  its  light  and  heat, 

j,  the  moon  by  its  light,  are  thought  of  as  the  governing  forces  of 

day  and  night   respectively.       The  language,  however,  may  be 

a  reminiscence  of  the  worship  of  sun  and  moon  as  divine  monarchs, 

e.  g.  the  Babylonian  Shamash  and  Sin. 

the  stars  also.  These  words  look  like  an  afterthought, 
especially  in  the  Hebrew,  and  are  perhaps  a  later  addition. 

18.  to  divide  the  light  from  the  darkness.  These  words 
seem  superfluous,  as   this   division    was    made   on   the  first   day 

1  Exod.  iv.  8.  2  Gen.  ix.  12.  '  Isa.  xlvii.  13. 


80  GENESIS    1.  19,  20.     P 

19  And  there  was  evening  and  there  was  morning,  a  fourth 
day. 

20  And  God  said,  Let  the  waters  bring  forth  abundantly    j 
the  moving  creature  that  hath  life,  and  let  fowl  fly  above 

— — 

(verse  4).     They  may  be  an  addition  ;  or  the  author  may  refer  in  ft 
verse  4  to  the  initial  separation  of  light  and  darkness  as  ultimate 
substances,  and  here  to  the  way  in  which  the  division  between 
them  is  actually  shown  to  men. 

14-19.  The  most  relevant  lines  of  the  parallel  section  of  the 
Creation  epic  are  as  follows  : — 

•  He  (Merodach)  prepared  stations  for  the  great  gods. 
As  stars  like   to  them  he  placed  the  constellations  of  the 

Zodiac  K 
He  indicated  the  year  .... 
He  instituted  twelve  months,  each  with  three  stars. 

He  placed  the  zenith  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 

He  made  the  moon  shine,  made  the  night  subject  to  him, 

He  appointed  him  .  .  .2  to  make  known  time 

Monthly,  without  failing  .  .  .  .2 

At  the  beginning  of  the  month  .  .  .  ,2 

It  shines  with  horns  .  .  .  .2 

On  the  seventh  day  with  a  half-circle.' 

A  paragraph  follows  about  the  sun,  the  extant  remains  of  which 
are  too  scanty  to  be  deciphered.  In  the  closing  tablet  we  also 
read  that  Merodach  appoints  '  the  courses  for  the  stars  of  heaven.' 

20.  "bring"  forth  abundantly  the  moving"  creature  that 
hath  life.  R.  V.  marg.,  Heb.  '  swarm  with  swarms  of  living 
creatures.' 

fowl:  Heb.  'opk,  by  derivation  'flying  thing,'  here  used 
collectively  for  flying  things  in  general,  including  not  only  birds, 
but  insects,  bats,  &c.  Cf.  Lev.  xi.  20,  where  shere  (swarm  of) 
lia  the)  'oph  is  used  for  'winged  .  .  .  things  that  go  upon  all 
four3,'  including  four  varieties  of  locusts  or  grasshoppers. 

The  coupling  in  one  creative  act  of  the  creatures  of  the  sea  and 
air  has  been  variously  explained  :  (a)  by  the  necessity  of  including 
creation  in  six  days  (cf.  on  verses  9-13)  ;  and,  also,  for  the  sake 
of  having  ten   creative   acts,     (b)  '  The  ranking  together  of  the 


1  So  Gunkel  and  Jensen,  but  translation  doubtful. 

2  Text  or  translation  doubtful. 

"  So  R.V.  ;    A. V.,  curiously,  'All   fowls  that   creep,  going  upon 
all  four.' 


GENESIS  1.  21.     P  81 

the  earth  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven.     And  God  2 1 
created  the  great  sea-monsters,  and  every  living  creature 

animals  of  the  water  and  air  is  to  be  explained  by  the  simi- 
larity of  their  elements,  viz.  fluidity  and  mobility,  and  the  con- 
nected manifold  similarity  of  their  organism  and  their  propaga- 
tion1.' This  is  probably  partly  true;  the  narrative  does  not 
think  of  living  creatures  as  produced  from  nothing,  but  from 
substance  already  existing.  Naturally  the  sea-creatures  were 
produced  from  the  sea,  and  the  land-creatures  from  the  land  ;  but 
the  air  did  not  seem  substantial  enough  to  produce  the  air- 
creatures,  and  it  seemed  more  reasonable,  as  the  above  quotation 
points  out,  to  derive  them  from  the  sea  than  from  the  land  :  but  (c) 
the  author  probably  is  influenced  by  some  ancient  tradition  that 
birds  were  produced  from  the  water.  Perhaps  this  was  connected 
with  the  Babylonian  myth,  preserved  by  Berosus,  which  states  that 
the  primaeval  waters  generated  monstrous  winged  creatures. 
let  fowl  fly :  A.  V.,  with  LXX,  f  fowl  that  may  fly.' 
heaven.  Add  after  this,  with  the  LXX,  and  on  account 
of  the  analogy  of  the  other  paragraphs,  '  and  it  was  so  ' ;  cf.  on 
verse  7. 

21.  created:  used  here  for  the  second  time  (cf.  verse  1),  at  the 
appearance  of  conscious  life. 

sea-monsters :  A.  V.  '  whales,'  Heb.  tanninimt  a  late 
word,  found  chiefly  or  wholly  in  exilic  or  post-exilic  literature. 
Tannin  is  usually  derived  from  a  root  TNN,  '  to  stretch,'  and 
even  connected  with  the  Greek  and  Latin  root  teti,  which  we 
have  in  tension,  &c.  ;  tannin  is  therefore  explained  as  a  stretched- 
out,  long,  thin  thing,  like  a  serpent,  &c.  In  Exod.  vii.  9-12  the 
rods  of  Aaron  and  of  Pharaoh's  magicians  are  changed  to  tanninim, 
E.  V.  '  serpents  '  ;  in  the  parallel  passage,  Exod.  iv.  3,  Moses'  rod 
becomes  a  nahash,  the  ordinary  word  for  'serpent.'  In  Isa.  xxvii. 
1  the  tannin  is  coupled  with  '  leviathan,'  and  in  li.  9  with 
'  Rahab,'  and  in  Ps.  cxlviii.  7  with  the  '  tehomoth '  or  abysses. 
In  the  last  two  passages  E.  V.  renders  '  dragons.'  Probably  the 
author  had  in  mind  the  aquatic  monsters  which  in  Babylonian 
mythology  peopled  the  primaeval  abyss.  If  so,  he  suggests  a 
contrast ;  in  the  mythology  there  were  monsters  existing  before 
Merodach  the  Creator,  and  capable  of  contending  with  him  ;  but 
in  truth  even  the  huge,  mysterious  monsters  of  the  abyss  are  the 
work  of  the  God  of  Israel.  The  term  'sea-monster  '  is  not  very 
apt,  as  the  author  was  probably  thinking  more  of  hippopotami 
and  crocodiles  than  of  sharks  and  whales.  The  '  behemoth '  in 
Job  xl.  15-24  is  the  hippopotamus,  and  the  'leviathan'  in  Job  xli 

1  Dillmann,  in  loco,  Eng.  Tr. 
G 


82  GENESIS  1.  22-24.     P 

that  moveth,  which  the  waters  brought  forth  abundantly, 
after  their  kinds,  and  every  winged  fowl  after  its  kind : 

22  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good.     And  God  blessed  them, 
saying,  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  fill  the  waters  in 

23  the  seas,  and  let  fowl  multiply  in  the  earth.     And  there 
was  evening  and  there  was  morning,  a  fifth  day. 

24  And  God  said,  Let  the  earth  bring  forth  the  living 

the  crocodile.  There  was  a  well  of  the  tannin,  E.  V.  '  dragon,' 
at  Jerusalem  in  post-exilic  times. 

every  living1  creature  that  inoveth.  Like  the  corresponding 
1  moving  creature  that  hath  life,'  the  phrase  is  used  as  more 
general  than  '  fish/  in  order  to  include  every  possible  variety  of 
creature  that  inhabited  the  waters  ;  cf.  Ps.  viii.  8  : — 

'  The  fowl  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea, 
Whatsoever  passeth  through  the  paths  of  the  seas.' 

'Moveth,'  strictly  'creepeth1'  ;  perhaps  to  emphasize  the  most 
striking  difference  between  plants  and  animals,  the  fact  that  the 
latter  are  not  confined  to  one  spot  like  the  former. 

abundantly.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  only  a  single 
pair  of  each  kind  was  originally  produced.  It  is  true  that  in  the 
Priestly  (P)  narrative  of  the  flood  a  pair  of  each  kind  is  taken 
into  the  ark 2,  but  there  is  clearly  no  analog}'  between  the 
limited  space  of  the  ark  and  the  unlimited  water  and  air  available 
at  the  Creation. 

winged  fowl :  lit.  '  flying  (things'  with  wings  '  ;  cf.  Ps.  cxlviii. 
10,  E.  V.  'flying  fowl,'/*?,  'birds  with  wings.'  The  redundant 
expression  again  emphasizes  the  most  striking  characteristics  of 
the  class. 

22.  And  God  blessed  them,  saying",  Be  fruitful,  &c.  The 
formula  now  receives  an  addition,  which  is  repeated  for  man,  and, 
in  a  different  form,  for  the  sabbath.  The  direct  address  in  the 
second  person,  '  Be  fruitful,'  &c,  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
animals  are  conscious  beings,  capable  of  receiving,  understanding, 
and  obeying  the  Divine  commands.  This  utterance  endows  the 
creatures  addressed  with  the  power  of  reproduction. 

multiply,  and  fill  the  waters.  The  author  thinks  of  a  certain 
area  being  originally  provided  with  fishes,  birds,  &c,  and,  later 
on,  beasts,  and  men,  and  the  rest  of  the  world  as  being  supplied 
from  thence. 

20-23.  The  section  of  the  Creation  epic  which  would  doubtless 
have  corresponded  to  this  paragraph  has  not  jret  been  found. 

1  Heb.  RMS.  2  Gen.  vi.  19,  20. 


j-*.^  GENESIS  1.  25,  26.     P  83 

creature  after  its  kind,  cattle,  and  creeping  thing,  and 
beast  of  the  earth  after  its  kind :  and  it  was  so.  And  25 
God  made  the  beast  of  the  earth  after  its  kind,  and  the 
cattle  after  their  kind,  and  every  thing  that  creepeth 
upon  the  ground  after  its  kind :  and  God  saw  that  it 
was  good.     And  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our  26 

24.  cattle  :  domestic  animals, 
creeping"  thing" :  reptiles. 
beast  of  the  earth  :  wild  beasts. 

The  author  thinks  of  the  domestic  animals  and  the  beasts  of 
prey  as  having  been  created  tame  and  wild  respectively. 

24,  25.  Notice  the  absence  of  the  blessing  given  to  the 
creatures  of  the  water  and  of  the  air  (verse  22),  and  to  men 
(verse  28%  No  satisfactory  explanation  of  this  omission  has  been 
given.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  author  was  afraid  of 
making  his  narrative  too  long,  or  wished  to  have  just  three 
blessings  (verses  22,  28,  ii.  3).  Perhaps  an  editor  or  scribe  who 
was  cramped  for  space  omitted  the  blessing  here,  under  the 
impression  that  verses  28-30  might  do  duty  for  the  beasts  as  well 
as  for  men.  The  LXX  of  Joshua  often  omits  formulae  which 
are  frequently  repeated. 

Here  again  the  Creation  epic  is  defective  ;  but  a  fragment 
sometimes  supposed  to  belong  to  that  series  speaks  of  the  creation 
of '  cattle,  wild  beasts,  and  reptiles  '  ;  and  the  alternative  account 
speaks  of  the  creation  of  numerous  varieties  of  land  animals ;  see 
on  ii.  19. 

26.  Let  us  make  man.  Cf.  iii.  22,  where,  after  the  Fall,  '  the 
Lord  God  said,  Behold,  the  man  is  become  as  one  of  us ' ;  xi.  7, 
where,  after  the  building  of  the  Tower  of  Babel,  the  Lord  said, 
1 .  .  .  Let  us  go  down  '  ;  and  Isa.  vi.  8,  where  the  prophet  '  Heard 
the  voice  of  the  Lord,  saying,  .  .  .  Who  will  go  for  us  1 '  This 
'us'  has  been  very  variously  interpreted:  as  referring  to  the 
Three  Persons  of  the  Trinity  ;  or  to  the  manifold  powers, 
qualities,  and  attributes  of  God  ;  or  as  being  the  royal  'we.'  But 
the  meaning  is  determined  by  Isa.  vi,  where  Yahweh  is  described 
as  surrounded  by  His  heavenly  court,  the  Seraphim,  and  mani- 
festly addresses  them.  So  here  and  elsewhere  '  God  is  thought 
of  as  attended  by  subordinate  supernatural  beings,  or,  as  we 
should  say,  angels.  Such  passages  are  so  far  an  anticipation  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  as  they  imply  a  denial  of  that  isolation 
of  the  Deity  in  heaven  to  which  the  bare  doctrine  of  the  absolute 
oneness  of  God  inevitably  tends.     It  has  been  pointed  out  that  to 

1  e.g.  Job  i,  ii. 
G    2 


84  GENESIS  1.  27.     P 

image,  after  our  likeness :  and  let  them  have  dominion 
over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and 
over  the  cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,  and  over  every 
27  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth.  And  God 
created  man  in  his  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God 

write  '  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image  '  was  less  startling,  and  less 
suggestive  of  erroneous  anthropomorphism,  than  to  say,  '  Let  me 
make  man  in  my  image.'     Cf.  below. 

man :  Heb.  'adam  ;  here  a  common  noun,  of  uncertain  de- 
rivation, but  by  similarity  of  form  suggesting  the  name  'Edom; 
the  word  -adamah,  ground,  cf.  ii.  7,  iii.  19  ;  and  the  root  'DM. 
i  red/  as  in  ' adorn,  l  red,'  xxv.  30,  and  in  dam.  '  blood.'  '  Man  ' 
here,  like  the  singular  words  for  <  flying  creatures,'  '  cattle/  &c, 
is  collective  and  equals  '  mankind,  the  human  race.' 

in  our  image,  after  our  likeness.  No  distinction  can  be 
drawn  here  between  ' image'  and  'likeness'1;  they  are  not 
intended  to  express  two  distinct  ideas,  but  are  a  pair  of  synonyms 
setting  forth  one  idea  with  special  emphasis  and  some  variety  in 
language.  This  likeness  is  again  referred  to  in  verses  1-3.  Much 
discussion  has  taken  place  on  the  question — Wherein  did  the 
author  understand  that  *his  likeness  consisted  :  whether  in  the 
outward  appearance,  e.  g.  the  upright  posture  :  or  the  dominion 
over  other  animals  (verse  28)  ;  or  in  the  moral  and  spiritual 
attributes  of  God  ?  If  the  author  had  taken  the  very  serious 
trouble  of  thinking  out  this  problem  he  would  have  given  us  his 
solution.  As  it  is,  he  has  provided  us  with  a  general  formula., 
which  we  are  at  liberty  to  use  in  the  light  of  the  Christian 
revelation.  Probably  he  reproduces  a  feature  of  the  ancient 
tradition.  Primitive  religion  is  usually  frankly  anthropomorphic 
at  certain  stages  ;  and  the  idea  that  man  is  '  the  image  of  God '  is 
a  commonplace  of  classical  philosophers  2. 

have  dominion,  &c.    So  also  Ps.  viii.  6-8 : — 

'  Thou  madest  him  to  have  dominion  over  the  works  of  thy 
hands ; 

Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet : 

All  sheep  and  oxen, 

Yea,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field  ; 

The  fowl  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea.' 
27.  created  :   used  for  the  third  time,   and  here  used  -three 
times  by  way  of  special  emphasis.     The  formation  of  man  was 
a  more  wonderful  new  departure  than  the  creation  of  heaven  and 

1   Heb.  celem  and  dcmuth.  2  See  Dillmann3  in  loco. 


GENESIS  1.  28,  29.     P  85 

created  he  him ;  male  and  female  created  he  them. 
And  God  blessed  them :  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be  28 
fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  sub- 
due it ;  and  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and 
over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  every  living  thing  that 
moveth  upon  the  earth.  And  God  said,  Behold,  I  have  29 
given  you  every  herb  yielding  seed,  which  is  upon  the 
face  of  all  the  earth,  and  every  tree,  in  the  which  is  the 
fruit  of  a  tree  yielding  seed ;  to  you  it  shall  be  for  meat : 

earth  (verse  1),  or  the  appearance  of  conscious  life  (verse  21). 
The  other  animals  are  '  brought  forth  '  by  the  waters  or  the  earth  ; 
but  there  is  no  hint  of  any  material  from  which  man  is  '  brought 
forth.'  In  order  to  enhance  the  importance  of  the  creative  act  and 
the  dignity  of  man,  God  invites  the  co-operation  of  His  heavenly 
ministers  in  this  supreme  work. 

male  and  female,  thus  providing  for  the  continuance  of  the 
race  by  reproduction.  The  existence  of  two  sexes,  though 
common  to  man  with  the  lower  animals,  is  first  mentioned  here. 
The  phrase  almost  reads  like  a  correction  of  the  earlier  statement 
of  ii.  21-23  that  the  formation  of  woman  was  a  distinct  act.  This 
verse  by  itself  could  not  be  understood  as  stating  that  originally 
only  a  single  pair  was  created,  but  as  the  same  Priestly  (P)  writer 
in  chapter  v  makes  Adam  the  ancestor  of  the  whole  human  race 
he  apparently  held  that  only  one  man  was  originally  created ;  he 
probably  also  took  for  granted  that  his  readers  would  understand 
that  only  one  woman  was  created,  but  this  latter  point  could 
hardly  be  proved  from  the  actual  words  of  the  Priestly  narrative. 

28.  fowl  of  the  air.  The  LXX  adds  here,  f  and  over  the 
cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,'  as  in  verse  26. 

moveth :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  creepeth.' 

29.  I  have  given  you  every  herb  yielding  seed,  .  .  .  and 
every  tree  .  .  .  for  meat.  '  Meat '  in  its  Elizabethan  sense  of 
'food.'  The  Priestly  Document  in  its  legal  sections  dwells  upon 
the  regulations  of  the  Law  as  to  food  ;  and  in  the  same  spirit  it 
thinks  of  God  as  giving  ordinances  on  this  subject  at  the  Creation. 
In  the  first,  or  antediluvian,  dispensation  both  men  and  animals 
are  thought  of  as  living  on  a  vegetarian  diet,  and  therefore  not 
taking  life,  but  dwelling  in  peace  together.  It  is  not  certain  that 
any  distinction  is  intended  between  the  '  herb  yielding  seed  '  given 
to  man  and  the  '  green  herb '  given  to  the  animals  ;  but  perhaps 
the  grains  and  fruits  are  given  to  man  and  the  grasses  to  the 
animals.    Cf.  ix.  1-7. 

the  fruit  of  a  tree.     The  LXX  omits  '  of  a  tree.' 


86  GENESIS  1.  30— 2.  2.     P 

30  and  to  every  beast  of  the  earth,  and  to  every  fowl  of  the 
air,  and  to  every  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth, 
wherein  there  is  life,  /  have  given  every  green  herb  for 

31  meat :  and  it  was  so.  And  God  saw  every  thing  that  he 
had  made,  and,  behold,  it  was  very  good.  And  there 
was  evening  and  there  was  morning,  the  sixth  day. 

2      And  the  heaven  and  the  earth  were  finished,  and  all 
2  the  host  of  them.     And  on  the  seventh  day  God  finished 

30.  to  every  beast  ...  I  have  given  every  green  herb. 
These  verses  imply  universal  peace  amongst  men  and  animals 
as  having  existed  in  a  primaeval  golden  age.  In  Isa.  xi.  6-9  this 
is  also  a  feature  of  the  future  Messianic  Age:  'The  wolf  shall 
dwell  with  the  lamb,  .  .  .  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox.  .  .  . 
They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destro}'  in  all  my  holy  mountain.'  Similar 
pictures  are  found  in  classical  writers. 

No  provision  is  made  for  the  fishes  ;  perhaps  the  author  did  not 
know  how  they  fed,  or  did  not  care  to  overload  his  narrative  by 
elaborating  an  unimportant  detail.  The  '  cattle  •  are  perhaps  here 
included  with  the  other  beasts. 

wherein  there  is  life:  R.  V.  marg.,  'a  living  soul.'  The 
Hebrew  for  'life'  or  'living  soul '  is  nephesh  hayyah,  used  else- 
where in  this  chapter  for  'living  creature.'  The  verse  shows 
that,  in  the  opinion  of  this  writer  at  any  rate,  the  nephesh, 
constantly  translated  '  soul,'  denotes  a  principle  or  faculty  common 
to  animals  and  man,  the  animal  life. 

31.  God  saw  every  thing",  ...  it  was  very  good.  There  is 
no  special  reference  to  man  ;  he  is  simply  included  in  this  general 
statement.  The  result  of  each  creative  act  was  satisfactory  in 
itself,  but  there  was  ground  for  special  satisfaction  in  con- 
templating the  completed  work  in  which  each  portion  was  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  rest. 

the  sixth  day,  not  merely,  '  a  sixth  day,'  as  in  the  previous 
paragraphs  ;  the  last  day  of  God's  working,  like  the  first,  is 
marked  as  special. 

26-31.  Here  again  the  corresponding  portion  of  the  Creation 
epic  has  not  been  found  ;  but  the  hymn  to  Merodach  '  speaks  of 
him  as  creating  mankind. 

ii.  1.  all  the  host  of  them.  '  Host 2  of  heaven  '  is  found  in  the 
sense  of  the  stars 3 ;  and  here  the  '  host '  stands  for  the  inhabitants, 
contents,  and  belongings,  so  to  speak,  of  heaven  and  earth. 

2.  on  the  seventh  day  God  finished  his  work.     These  words 

1  Cf.  p.  69.  2  Heb.  faba'.  3  Cf.  Jer.  xxxiii.  22. 


GENESIS  2.  3.     P  87 

his  work  which  he  had  made;   and  he  rested  on  the 
seventh   day   from   all  his  work  which  he  had   made. 
And  God  blessed  the  seventh   day,   and  hallowed  it :  3 
because  that  in  it  he  rested  from  all  his  work  which  God 
had  created  and  made. 


are  difficult  ;  the  context  requires  that  they  should  mean  that  God 
did  no  work  on  the  seventh  day.  But  this  would  make  the  next 
clause,  \  he  rested  on  the  seventh  day,'  mere  repetition  ;  moreover 
it  is  doubtful  whether  the  Hebrew  for  '  finished  work  *  can  mean 
'  did  no  work '  or  '  left  off  work,'  any  more  than  we  could  say  in 
English  that  a  candidate,  sitting  for  examinations  from  Monday  to 
Saturday,  finished  }  them  on  Sunday.  Many  scholars,  however, 
feel  compelled  to  accept  the  meaning  '  desisted  from  work,'  and 
try  to  show  that  it  can  be  justified  from  Hebrew  usage. 

The  Samaritan  Pentateuch  2,  the  LXX,  and  other  ancient  versions, 
read  'on  the  sixth  day  God  finished,'  &c,  which  gives  the  sense 
required,  but  may  merely  show  that  translators  or  scribes  felt  the 
difficulty,  and  altered  the  text  accordingly.  On  the  other  hand 
a  careless  scribe  might  easily  substitute  '  seventh '  for  '  sixth '  by 
confusion  with  the  '  seventh '  a  line  or  two  further  down. 

The  Rabbinical  commentator  Rashi3  offers  us  two  explanations. 
The  first  is  that  flesh  and  blood  cannot  know  times  and  seasons 
exactly,  and  must  leave  off  on  the  same  day  on  which  they  finish 
if  they  wish  to  be  sure  of  not  carrying  work  on  into  the  next  day  ; 
but  God  knows  time  exactly,  and,  to  put  it  in  modern  terms,  can 
work  up  to  the  last  second  of  one  day,  and  stop  the  very  begin- 
ning of  the  next.  The  other  explanation  is  as  follows  :  '  What 
did  the  world  yet  lack  (after  the  six  days'  work)  ?  Rest.  And  so 
God  made  the  world  complete  by  introducing  rest.' 

It  is  clear  that  we  must  either  read,  with  the  LXX,  &c,  that  God 
finished  on  the  sixth  day ;  or  else  we  must  understand  our  present 
text  to  mean  that  He  abstained  from  work  on  the  seventh  day. 

3.  hallowed  it :  marked  it  off  from  other  days  as  a  sacred 
season  to  be  specially  devoted  to  Himself. 

had  created  and  made  :  more  exactly,  '  had  creatively  made,' 
i.  e.  made  in  that  peculiarly  Divine  way  of  working  which  is 
denoted  by  the  word  ;  create,'  and  which  transcends  human 
powers. 

1  The  Hebrew  word,  however,  may  mean  to  put  a  stop  to 
anything  rather  than  to  put  the  finishing  touches  to  it. 

3  See  p.  42. 

3  A  Rabbi  who  taught  in  France  and  Germany;  b.  A.D.  1040, 
d.  no?. 


88  GENESIS  2.  4.     P 

4      These  are  the  generations  of  the  heaven  and  of  the 

1-3.  The  usual  formulae  are  omitted  from  this  paragraph, 
probably  to  heighten  the  contrast  between  the  seventh  day,  the 
day  of  rest,  and  the  six  working  days. 

Here  we  have  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath,  or  Day  of  Rest. 
Although  the  name  is  not  actually  mentioned,  it  is  referred  to 
in  the  twice-repeated  'rested,'  Heb.  sJiabath,  from  which  Sab- 
bath is  usually1  derived.  We  are  not  told  of  any  observances 
enjoined  upon  man,  but,  in  the  Ten  Commandments2,  God's  rest 
is  given  as  a  reason  why  man  should  abstain  from  work  on  the 
seventh  day. 

There  is  no  corresponding  section  of  the  Creation  epic,  but  a 
similar  observance  of  seventh  days  is  found  in  the  Babylonian 
calendar.  On  the  seventh,  fourteenth,  twent3T-first,  twenty-eighth, 
but  also  on  the  nineteenth  days  of  the  month  the  king  may  not 
'eat  meat  roasted  by  the  fire,  or  any  food  prepared  by  the  fire,' 
nor  must  he  change  his  clothes,  nor  offer  sacrifices,  nor  ride  in  a 
chariot3.     It  is  'an  evil  day,'  an  unlucky  day,  like  our  Friday4. 

The  word  '  Sabbath '  may  be  of  Babylonian  origin,  as  similar 
words  are  found  in  that  language,  though  with  a  somewhat  differ- 
ent usage.  The  noun  sabafum  is  a  day  on  which  the  gods  rest 
from  anger  and  may  be  propitiated,  and  the  verb  sabatu  means 
*.  to  complete,'  and  not  '  to  desist  from.' 

The  Sabbath  appears  in  the  Primitive  Codes s,  especially  in  the 
Ten  Commandments. 

Outside  of  the  Pentateuch  the  Sabbath  first  appears  as  a  sacred 
season  in  the  episode  of  the  Shunammite,  whose  husband  was 
surprised  at  her  journey  to  visit  'the  man  of  God'  because  it  was 
4  neither  new  moon  nor  sabbath  G.' 

4.  These  are  the  generations,  &c.  This  is  the  formula  by 
which  the  Priestly  Document  introduces  the  ten  sections  of  its 
history  of  the  Patriarchs  ;  so,  for  instance,  '  These  are  the  genera- 
tions of  Noah,'  and  similarly  for  Adam,  the  sons  of  Noah, 
Shem,  Terah,  Ishmael,   Isaac,  Esau,  and  Jacob7.     The  Hebrew 

1  It  is  sometimes  connected  with  Sheba,  seven ;  and  the  writer 
may  intend  to  suggest  a  connexion  with  both  words,  more  perhaps 
by  way  of  noticing  a  similarity  of  form  and  meaning  than  of 
asserting  an  etymological  derivation. 

2  Exod.  xx.  ii. 

?  Jastrow,  Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria. 

4  Driver,  in  Hastings' .D/cz1,  of  the  Bible,  'Sabbath,'  understands 
this  Babylonian  institution  differently  as  a  day  which  may  be  made 
favourable  by  observing  these  abstinences,  or  evil  by  neglecting  them. 

5  Those  included  in  J  and  E.  6  2  Kings  iv.  23. 

'  Gen.  v.  1,  vi.  9,  x.  1,  xi.  10,  27,  xxv.  12,  19,  xxxvi.  i,  xxxvii.  2. 


GENESIS  2.  4.     PJ  89 

earth  when  they  were  created,  [J]  in  the  day  that  the  4 

word  *  is  from  a  root  meaning  '  to  beget,  or  bear  children,'  and  so 
comes  to  mean  '  parentage,  account  of  birth  or  descent,  genealogy.' 
Some  of  the  sections  introduced  by  this  formula  are  genealogies,  e.g. 
the  '  generations  of  Adam  '  (v),  others  include  narratives,  e.  g.  the 
'generations  of  Noah'  (vi.  9),  &c,  &c.  ;  so  that  the  term  almost 
equals  '  family  history.'  As  this  formula  elsewhere  always  stands 
at  the  head  of  a  section,  and  as  ii.  41'  ff.  belong  to  another 
document,  it  is  commonly  held  that  4%  '  These  are  the  generations 
.  .  .  created,'  originally  stood  at  the  beginning  of  the  Priestly 
Document,  and  that  they  owe  their  present  position  to  the  editor2 
who  combined  that  document  with  the  other  sources  of  the 
Pentateuch.  It  may  have  seemed  to  him  fitting  that  the  words 
'  In  the  beginning  '  should  stand  at  the  beginning  of  the  Book  of 
the  Law  ;  or  he  may  have  felt  that  '  The  generations/  &c,  would  be 
a  less  striking  exordium  than  '  In  the  beginning  God  created,'  &c. 
It  is  also  possible  that  these  considerations  may  have  occurred  to 
the  Priestly  writer,  and  that  he  may  have  marked  the  uniqueness 
of  this  section  by  using  his  formula  for  a  conclusion  instead  of  a 
heading. 

The  LXX  has  '  This  is  the  Book  of  the  Genesis,'  &c.  as  in  v.  1  ; 
and  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  editor,  before  inserting  a  section 
from  the  other  document,  accidentally  copied  in  the  opening  words 
of  v.  i,  which  were  afterwards  adapted  to  their  present  position. 

ii.  4b-25.     The  Primitive  (J)  Narrative  of  the  Creation. 

ii.  4b-6.     The  Primaeval  Chaos. 

ii.  7.     A  man  formed  from  the  soil  and  the  breath  of  God. 

ii.  8-14.  Yahweh  Elohim  ('the  Lord  God')  plants  a  garden 
with  trees  and  provides  it  with  rivers. 

ii.  15-17.  Yahweh  Elohim  places  the  man  in  the  garden  to 
tend  it ;  the  trees  are  to  furnish  him  with  food;  but  he  must  not 
eat  from  the  Tree  of  Knowledge  under  penalty  of  death. 

ii.  18-20.  Yahweh  Elohim  forms  the  animals  out  of  the  soil 
to  provide  a  companion  for  the  man.  The  man  names  them,  but 
fails  to  find  a  suitable  companion  for  himself. 

ii.  21-25.  Accordingly  Yahweh  Elohim  throws  the  man  into  a 
trance,  and  from  one  of  his  ribs  constructs  a  woman,  whom  the 
man  accepts  as  his  companion.  Thus  matrimony  is  instituted. 
The  newly  created  couple  are  'naked,  and  not  ashamed.' 

(a)  The  sources  of  this  narrative.  The  main  source,  as  we  have 
indicated,    is  the    older   portion    or   stratum3    of  the   Primitive 

1  Toledothy  from  the  root  yalad.  2  See  p.  10. 

3  J  K     See  p.  23. 


90  GENESIS  2.  5.     J 

5  Lord  God  made  earth  and  heaven.     And  no  plant  of  the 

Jehovistic  Document.  But  the  '  Elohim '  (God)  in  the  Divine 
Name  '  Yahweh  Elohim  '  (Lord  God)  '  was  not  used  in  that  docu- 
ment, but  has  been  added  by  the  editor,  perhaps  to  indicate  that 
the  Yahweh  (Lord)  of  this  section  is  the  same  as  the  Elohim  (God) 
of  the  first  chapter.  There  are  other  portions  of  ii.  4b-25  which 
are  considered  editorial  additions  ;  the  more  important  of  these 
are  mentioned  in  the  commentary,  but  it  has  not  been  thought 
necessary  to  indicate  them  in  the  text. 

(b)  Relation  to  i.  i — ii.  4a.  In  spite  of  the  obvious  differences 
the  two  accounts  have  important  features  in  common.  Both 
show  the  influence  of  the  ancient  tradition  by  beginning  with 
a  scene  of  waste  desolation  ;  and  the  influence  of  inspired  teach- 
ing by  the  omission  of  all  polytheistic  ideas.  On  the  other  hand 
the  differences  are  also  important  :  the  Priestly  account  is  cosmic  ; 
it  deals  with  earth  and  heaven  and  all  their  hosts,  with  the  dry 
land,  and  the  firmament,  and  the  waters  above  and  below  the 
firmament ;  the  Primitive  account  is  local,  and  is  only  concerned 
with  a  garden  and  its  inhabitants,  and  the  streams  that  water  it. 
In  the  Priestly  account  anthropomorphic  language  is  used  as  little 
as  possible  ;  but  in  ii.  4b-25  Yahweh  is  frankly  spoken  of  as  a 
man  might  be  ;  He  moulds  a  man  out  of  dust,  plants  a  garden,  and 
takes  a  rib  out  of  the  man  and  builds  it  up  into  a  woman.  So 
far  as  the  creation  of  the  same  beings  is  concerned  the  order  is 
different ;  especially  in  ch.  ii  the  woman  is  formed  last,  as  a  kind  of 
afterthought,  to  be  the  man's  companion,  and  we  are  not  told  that 
God  breathed  into  her  the  breath  of  life  j  whereas  in  ch.  i  man  and 
woman  are  formed  by  the  same  creative  act  in  the  likeness  of  God. 

(c)  Relation  to  the  Babylonian  Cosmogony.  We  have  seen  that 
there  is  some  similarity  between  this  section  and  the  Creation 
epic,  but  there  is  a  closer  connexion  with  what  we  may  call  the 
alternative  (Babylonian)  account  of  the  Creation.  This  begins 
with  a  description  of  a  time  when  neither  trees,  houses,  cities 
(Nippur,  Ekur,  Uruk,  &c),  temples,  &c,  existed  ;  all  was  sea. 
First  were  made  the  ancient  cities  Iridu,  E-Sakkila,  Babel,  then 
certain  gods,  then  earth,  and  the  firmament  (?),  then,  in  succession, 
men,  animals,  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  vegetation,  and  various 
kinds  of  animals.  The  conclusion  of  this  account  is  lost.  Details 
of  comparison  between  this  alternative  account  and  that  in  ii. 
4''- 25  will  be  given  in  the  commentary.     Cf.  also  pp.  16  ff. 

4b.  the  IiORD  God.  Lord  here  and  elsewhere  in  the  O.  T.. 
when  printed  in  small  capitals,  represents  YHWH,  the  Israelite 
name  of  God 2.     Some  time  after  the  return  from  the  Captivity,  and 

1  Only  in  ii.  4b — iii.  24  in  the  Pentateuch. 

2  When  the  Heb.  YHWH  is  immediately  preceded  by  the  Heb. 


GENESIS  2.  5.     J  91 

field  was  yet  in  the  earth,  and  no  herb  of  the  field  had 

before  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  the  Jews  came  to 
believe  that  the  Divine  Name  YHWH  was  too  sacred  to  be 
uttered  on  ordinary  occasions.  It  was  said  to  be  pronounced  by 
the  High  Priest  on  the  Day  of  Atonement.  At  other  times,  when 
any  one  read  or  quoted  aloud  from  the  O.T.,  '  Adonay,  'Lord,' 
was  usuall}' l  substituted  for  YHWH,  and  similarly  the  LXX  has 
Knrios,  the  Vulgate  dominus,  and  the  E.  V.  Lord,  where  the 
Heb.  has  YHWH.  Hebrew  was  originally  written  without 
vowels,  but  when  the  '  vowel  points  2 '  were  added  :;  the  vowels 
of  'Adonay  or  'Elohim1  were  written  with  YHWH,  as  a 
direction  that  these  words  were  to  read  instead  of  the  word 
whose  consonants  were  YHWH  ;  thus  we  find  the  combinations 
YeHoWaH4  and  YeHoWiH.  At  the  Reformation,  the  former 
being  the  more  usual,  was  sometimes  used  as  the  name  of  the  God 
of  Israel,  and  owing  to  ignorance  of  its  history  was  misread  as 
'Jehovah5,'  a  form  which  has  established  itself  in  English,  but 
does  not  give  the  pronunciation  of  the  Divine  Name  it  represents. 
Owing  to  the  absence  of  vowel  points  in  ancient  Hebrew  we  do 
not  certainly  know  how  the  Tetragrammaton  6  was  read,  but  the 
current  theory  holds  that  it  was  sounded  as  Yalnveh. 

YHWH  was  the  personal  name  of  the  God  of  Israel  ;  just  as 
Chemosh  was  the  personal  name  of  the  God  of  Moab,  and  as 
Jesus  was  the  personal  name  of  our  Lord. 

The  origin  and  derivation  of  YHWH  are  unknown,  and  are  the 
subject  of  many  theories.  The  name  is  often  connected  with  the 
root  hwh,  'to  be,'  either  as  '  He  who  causes  to  be,'  the  First  Cause, 
or  '  He  who  is,'  the  Self-Existent,  the  Eternal.  The  latter  view 
is  given  in  Exod.  iii.  14 7,  where  God  tells  Moses  that  His  name 
is  'Ehyeh  (the  first  person  corresponding  to  YHWH,  taken  as  a 
verbal  form  in  the  third  person)  or  'Ehyeh  'asher  'ehyeh.     The 

word  for  Lord,  'Adonay,  YHWH  is  represented  in  the  E.  V.  by 
God,  printed  thus  in  capitals,  e.g.  Ezek.  ii.  4,  Lord  God.  Herein 
the  E.  V.  follows  the  Vulgate,  which  followed  the  Jewish  usage, 
indicated  in  the  text  of  cur  Hebrew  Bibles  by  the  vowel  points. 

1  See  previous  note. 

2  Dots  and  strokes  to  indicate  vowels,  something  after  the  fashion 
of  shorthand. 

3  About  the  sixth  century  A.D.    Ges.-Kautzsch,  p.  36. 

*  The  'e'  after  '  Y,'  instead  of  the  'a'  of  'Adonay,  is  due  to  a 
technicality  of  Hebrew  writing. 

5  In  the  Vulgate,  in  mediaeval  Latin,  and  in  German,  the  Heb.  Y 
is  represented  by  J,  and  W  by  V. 

6  A  term  meaning  '  four-lettered,'  often  used  for  YHWH. 

7  Probably  an  editorial  note. 


92  GENESIS  2.  6.     J 

yet  sprung  up :  for  the  Lord  God  had  not  caused  it  to 

rain  upon  the  earth,  and  there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the 

6  ground ;  but  there  went  up  a  mist  from  the  earth,  and 

first  person  is  used  because  God  Himself  is  the  speaker.  The 
phrase  'Ehyeh  'as/ier  'ehyeh  is  variously  rendered  by  R.  V.  and 
R.  V.  marg.,  'I  am  that  I  am,'  'I  am  because  I  am,'  'I  am  who 
am/  or  '  I  will  be  that  I  will  be,'  and  the  simple  'Ehyeh  either  '  I 
am'  or  '  I  will  be.1 

YHWH  has  also  been  connected  with  hwh,  in  the  sense  of  fall,' 
'  He  who  causes  to  fall.5  e.g.  'the  Rain-giver.'  It  is  possibly  a 
foreign  word,  the  explanation  of  which  must  be  sought  for  in 
some  non-Hebrew  or  even  non-Semitic  language. 

According  to  the  Priestly1  and  the  Elohistic2  Documents  this 
Divine  Name  was  first  revealed  to  Israel  through  Moses  at  the 
time  of  the  Exodus.  According  to  another  writer  3  this  name 
was  first  known  in  the  time  of  Enosh,  the  grandson  of  Adam. 
The  Primitive  Document,  as  we  see,  uses  it  from  the  beginning. 

God.  Heb.  'Elohim  *,  a  common  noun  in  the  plural,  used  for 
supernatural  beings,  and  especially  for  'God,'  both  for  the  true 
God  and  for  false  gods.  The  form  is  commonly  explained  as  a 
plural  of  majesty.  The  root  is  found  in  several  Semitic  languages, 
e.  g.  the  Arabic  Allah,  but  its  etymology  is  unknown.  It  is 
sometimes  explained  as  ;  Object  of  dread,'  sometimes  as  '  the 
Mighty  One.'  It  is  the  ordinary  Divine  Name  used  by  the 
Priestly  writer  and  the  Elohist  until  they  record  the  revelation 
of  the  name  YHWH. 

made  earth  and  heaven.  The  following  narrative  says 
nothing  about  the  making  of  heaven.  Perhaps  the  Primitive 
Document  originally  included  an  account  of  such  a  '  making,'  for 
which  the  editor  substituted  the  Priestly  narrative  given  in  i.  i — 
ii.  4a. 

5.  no  plant,  &c.  Here  the  primaeval  chaos  is  a  parched,  barren 
land,  instead  of  the  dark  waters  of  i.  2. 

there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground,  and  therefore 
there  could  be  no  crops  of  grain,  which  to  men  are  an  important 
part  of  the  '  herb  of  the  field  V     Cf.  also  on  the  following  verse. 

6.  there  went  up  a  mist.  The  word  '  mist 6 '  only  occurs 
here  and  in  Job  xxxvi.  27,  R.  V.  : — 

'  For  he  draweth  up  the  drops  of  water, 
Which  distil  in  rain  from  his  vapour.'' 

1  Exod.  vi.  2ff.  2  Exod.  iii.  136*. 

3  Perhaps  J"  j  see  p.  23  and  on  iv.  26. 

4  On  the  insertion  of  'Elohim  in  ii.  and  iii.  see  (a),  p.  90. 

5  So  Gunkel.  6  Heb.  '«*. 


GENESIS  2.  7.     J  93 

watered  the  whole  face  of  the  ground.     And  the  Lord  7 
God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life ;   and  man  became 

Here  the  LXX  and  other  versions  have  'spring'  or  'fountain,' 
and  a  cognate  Assyrian  word1  means  'flow'  or  'tide.' 
Possibly,  therefore,  instead  of  'mist'  we  should  understand  a 
stream  ;  perhaps  the  great  river  that  in  some  ancient  cosmogonies 
encircles  the  whole  earth  ;  see  the  next  clause. 

The  Hebrew  construction  should  naturally  describe  a  condition  of 
things  rather  than  an  event  ;  that  is,  before  the  series  of  events 
narrated  in  the  following  verses  there  was  barren  land,  either 
enveloped  in  a  watery  mist  or  washed  by  a  great  river.  Verses 
5  and  6  do  not  seem  quite  consistent ;  in  verse  5  rain  is  thought  of  as 
themeans  of  watering  the  ground,  in  verse  6  a  mist  or  stream.  Some 
scholars  reconcile  the  two  by  understanding  '  mist '  to  mean  a 
rain-cloud ;  others  suppose  that  verse  5  is  an  addition  ;  or  that 
verse  6  once  stood  where  we  now  have  verses  10-14. 

4b-6.  The  parallel  lines  of  the  corresponding  cuneiform  account 
are  as  follows  : — 

'  No  holy  house  for  the  gods  had  been  made  in  a  sacred  place. 

No  reed  had  sprung  up,  no  tree  had  been  formed. 

No  brick  had  been  laid,  no  brick  building  had  been  erected, 

No  house  had  been  made,  no  city  built, 

No  city  had  been  made,  .  .  . 

Nippur  had  not  been  made.  Ekur  hacf  not  been  built,' 

7.  formed2.  This  narrative  does  not  use  the  word  '  create.' 
man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground:  better,  'the  man,1  or  in 
idiomatic  English  '  a  man.'  i.  27  gives  the  creation  of  mankind  ; 
this  verse,  the  formation  of  an  individual.  From  the  previous 
verse  we  should  gather  that  the  '  dust'  had  been  moistened,  and 
had  become  clay.  'Man  iadani)  ...  of  the  ground  '  (adamalt)  may 
express  the  idea  that  man  was  named  after  the  soil  from  which  he 
was  taken,  which  he  tilled  during  his  life,  and  to  which  he 
returned  at  death.  This  description  of  man's  body  as  made  of 
dust  from  the  ground  has  been  styled  •  A  first  attempt  at  organic 
chemistry3.' 

breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life.  Breath  and 
breathing  are  the  most  obvious  tokens  of  life  ;  when  they  cease 
life  has  ceased  also.  The  clay  figure  which  Yahweh  had  moulded 
became  alive,  '  a  living  soul,'  when  He  breathed  into  its  nostrils. 
The  Divine  breath  passing  into  the  figure  became  a  separate 
principle  of  life.     The  natural  deduction  is  that  the  life  of  man  is, 

1  Edit.  2  Heb. yafar.  3  Gunkel. 


94  GENESIS  2.  8.     J 

a  living  soul.  And  the  Lord  God  planted  a  garden 
eastward,  in  Eden ;  and  there  he  put  the  man  whom  he 

as  it  were,  a  fragment  of  the  Divine  Life.  Man  is  not  only  made 
in  the  image  of  God,  as  in  the  Priestly  writer,  but  lives  by  the 
breath  of  God.  But  probably  neither  writer  drew  theological 
deductions  from  his  statements  ;  they  simply  explained  how  man 
came  to  be,  without  working  out  the  logical  consequences  of  the 
method  by  which  he  was  created  or  formed. 

The  parallel  lines  of  the  Babylonian  account  are  : — 
'That  the  gods  might  dwell  in  pleasant  places, 
He  (Merodach)  formed  men, 

The  goddess  Amru  together  with  him  formed  the  seed x  of 
men.' 

One  form  of  the  legend  of  Prometheus  tells  how  he  moulded 
men  and  animals  of  clay  and  animated  them  with  fire  from 
heaven. 

St.  Paul  emphasizes  this  account  of  the  origin  of  man  in  i  Cor. 
xv.  47-49,  lit.,  i  The  first  man  was  of  the  earth,  made  of  dust 2,'  and 
so  throughout  the  paragraph  we  might  substitute  •  made  of  dust ' 
for  '  earthy.' 

8.  the  LORD  G-od  planted.  Another  anthropomorphic  phrase. 
a  garden  eastward,  in  Eden.  •  Garden  '  would  be  better 
'park'  or  'pleasaunce.'  The  author  may  have  had  in  mind  the 
magnificent  parks  or  gardens  which  surrounded  the  palaces  of 
Egyptian  and  Assyrian  kings.  5  Eastward  '  from  Palestine,  which 
is  the  standpoint  of  the  writer. 

'  Eden '  is  also  referred  to  in  Isa.  li.  3  ;  Ezek.  xxviii.  13,  '  the 
garden  of  God';  xxxi.  9-18,  'the  trees  of  Eden';  xxxvi.  35;  Joel 
ii.  3.  We  also  find  mention  of  an  Eden  3,  a  petty  state  in  Syria  or 
Mesopotamia,  in  the  closing  period  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah  ;  but 
it  is  not  likely  that  the  writer  identified  his  Eden  with  any  neigh- 
bouring district  known  to  him.  '  Eden '  has  the  consonants  of 
a  Hebrew  root  meaning  '  delightful,  pleasurable,'  and  must  have 
suggested  this  idea  to  Israelites.  The  name,  however,  was  probably 
part  of  the  ancient  tradition.  It  is  sometimes  connected  with 
a  Babylonian  word  for  '  steppe,  wilderness,'  the  garden  of  Eden 
having  been  planted  in  the  midst  of  the  primaeval  wilderness.  But 
none  of  these  rival  theories  are  very  probable. 

If,  as  is  often  supposed,  verses  10-14  are  a  later  addition  ',  the 
original  story  did  not  define  the  position  of  Eden.     In  the  same 

1  Query,  'the  children.'  2  R.  V.  'earthy,'  Greek  choichos. 

3  Or  '  Edens.'     'Children  of  Eden,'  2  Kings  xix.  12;   Isa.  xxxvii. 
12;   'Eden,'  Ezek.  xxvii.  23  j    'house  of  Eden,'  Amos  i.  5. 
1  See  below. 


GENESIS  2.  9.     J  95 

had  formed.     And  out  of  the  ground  made  the  Lord  9 
God  to  grow  every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight,  and 
good  for  food ;  the  tree  of  life  also  in  the  midst  of  the 
garden,  and  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 

way  a  modern  devotional  writer  would  not  fix  the  position  of 
Heaven  in  the  Universe,  even  if  he  thought  of  it  as  a  locality. 

For  '  garden  of  Eden  '  the  LXX  has  '  paradise  of  Edem  '  (sic), 
and  the  Vulgate  '  paradise  of  pleasure.'  Hence  our  •'  Paradise  '  as 
a  name  for  Eden  and  for  the  Christian  Heaven.  The  word  is 
found  in  the  Hebrew  O.  T.  in  the  form  pardes  ',  R.  V.  and  marg. 
'  forest,  park,  orchard,  paradise.'  The  word  is  found  in  ancient 
Persian  in  the  sense  of  enclosure ;  and  has  been  read  in  Assyrian 
in  the  form  Pardesn  as  the  name  of  a  country. 

9.  every  tree :  every  kind  of  tree. 

the  tree  of  life :  i.  e.  according  to  iii.  22  the  tree  whose 
fruit  renders  those  who  eat  it  immortal. 

the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil :  similarly 
the  tree  whose  fruit  enables  those  who  eat  it  to  distinguish 
between  good  and  evil.  i  Good  and  evil '  does  not,  as  far  as  the 
mere  words  are  concerned,  refer  to  morality,  it  might  mean  simply 
■'  useful  and  injurious ' ;  but  the  phrase  is  intended  in  a  general 
sense.  The  man  was  not  without  knowledge  in  the  beginning, 
but  the  eating  of  such  fruit  would  give  him  added  insight,  wisdom, 
and  knowledge  ;  the  only  acquisition  of  the  kind  mentioned  in 
Genesis  as  the  result  of  eating  the  fruit  is  the  consciousness  of  sex. 

Partly  because  in  iii.  3  only  one  tree — the  tree  of  knowledge — 
is  spoken  of  as  'in  the  midst  of  the  garden,'  it  is  sometimes  sup- 
posed that  the  '  tree  of  life  '  here  and  in  iii.  22  is  an  addition  from 
another  story.     Such  a  theory,  however,  seems  unnecessary. 

The  sacred  tree  played  a  great  part  in  ancient  worship  and 
mythology.  Robertson  Smith2  writes:  'There  is  abundant  evidence 
that  in  all  parts  of  the  Semitic  area  trees  were  adored  as  divine.  . . . 
By  the  modern  Arabs  sacred  trees  are  called  manahil,  places  where 
angels  or  jinn  descend  and  are  heard  dancing  and  singing.  It  is 
deadly  danger  to  pluck  as  much  as  a  bough  from  such  a  tree.' 
A  sacred  tree,  or  its  representative  the  ashera,  was  a  feature  of  the 
ancient  sanctuaries  or  high  places,  e.  g.  the  oaks  or  terebinths  at 
Shechem  and  Mamre,  consecrated  by  their  association  with 
Abraham  3.  A  '  Tree  of  Life  l '  and  other  marvellous  trees  figure 
in  Babylonian  myths ;  and  sacred  trees  often  appear  on  the 
monuments. 

1  Neh.  ii.  S;  Eccles.  ii.  5;  Cant.  iv.  13. 

2  Religion  of  the  Semites,  p.  1S5  ff. 

3  Gen.  xii.  6,  xiii.  iS,  xviii.  1 ;  Judges  ix.  37.  4  Cf.  on  iii.  22. 


96  GENESIS  2.  10.     J 

to  And  a  river  went  out  of  Eden  to  water  the  garden ; 
and  from  thence  it  was  parted,  and  became  four  heads. 

10-14.  These  verses  are  generally  regarded  as  a  later  addition 
to  the  narrative.  This  '  jejune  geographical  description  * '  is  not 
in  keeping  with  the  simple  picturesqueness  of  the  rest  of  the 
chapter,  and  rather  reminds  one  of  an  extract  from  a  manual  of 
general  information.  The  watering  of  the  garden  has  already  been 
provided  for  in  verse  6. 

10.  went  out  of  Eden  to  water  the  garden.  This  is  a  little 
difficult  to  understand  ;  it  apparently  means  that  the  river  flowed 
into  the  garden  from  the  part  of  Eden  outside  of  it — in  verse  8  the 
garden  is  in,  and  therefore  only  a  part  of,  Eden.  We  should  rather 
have  expected  the  river  to  rise  in  the  garden  :  but  possibly  the 
writer  has  in  his  mind  some  tradition  now  lost  to  us. 

froni  thence  it  was  parted,  and  became  four  heads.  On 
leaving  the  garden  it  divided  itself  into  four  branches  or  arms,  as 
a  river  with  a  delta,  e.  g.  the  Nile,  divides  itself  into  branches  at 
the  entrance  to  the  delta. 

ii.  11-14.  The  Four  Rivers.  These  rivers  have  given  rise  to 
much  controversy,  and  are  the  subject  of  many  theories,  no  one 
of  which  has  yet  been  generally  accepted. 

The  author  begins  with  what  is  least  familiar  to  himself  and  his 
readers.  The  last  river  mentioned  is  the  Euphrates,  concerning 
which  no  details  are  given ;  they  were  unnecessary ;  every  Israelite 
knew  all  about  the  Euphrates.  The  last  but  one  is  the  somewhat 
Jess  familiar  Tigris 2,  whose  exact  course  was  apparently  not  known 
to  the  writer  (see  below).  The  first  two,  the  Pishon  and  the 
Gihon,  raise  difficulties  as  yet  unsolved.  Attempts  have  been  made 
to  connect  them  with  streams  at  present  existing  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  but  these  attempts 
have  met  with  little  success.  Thus  Prof.  Sayce  identifies  the 
Gihon  and  the  Pishon  with  the  Kerkhah  and  the  Pallakopas  Canal, 
two  streams  which  in  ancient  times  flowed  into  the  Persian  Gulf, 
like  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris.  Thus  the  •  river '  is  the  Gulf, 
and  the  '  four  heads '  the  four  streams  mentioned 3.  But  in  our 
chapter  the  four  heads  flow  out  of  and  not  into  the  river.  Others 
identify  the  Gihon  and  the  Pishon  with  streams  in  Mesopotamia 
or  Armenia.  But  it  is  more  probable  that  a  solution  must  be 
looked  for  in  the  limited  geographical  knowledge  of  the  writer  and 
his  times,  and  that  no  attempt  must  be  made  to  square  these  verses 

'  So  Dillmann. 

2  Hiddekel  of  E.  V.  is  its  Hebrew  name,  the  river  is  only  mentioned 
elsewhere  in  the  O.  T.  in  Dan.  x.  4. 

3  Higher  Criticism  and  the  Monuments,  pp.  97,  98, 


GENESIS  2.  ir-13.     J  97 

The  name  of  the  first  is  Pishon  :  that  is  it  which  com-  1 1 
passeth  the  whole  land  of  Havilah,  where  there  is  gold ; 
and  the  gold  of  that  land  is  good  :  there  is  bdellium  and  12 
the  onyx  stone.     And  the  name  of  the  second  river  is  13 

with  actual  geography  as  known  to-day.  The  writer's  meaning 
may  be  that  the  four  most  important  rivers  of  his  world  had  their 
sources  in  a  great  head  of  waters  in  Eden.  The  Nile  would  be 
one  of  these  rivers,  and  is  intended  by  the  Gihon  ;  the  fourth,  the 
Pishon,  cannot  be  certainly  identified.  To  a  reader  with  modern 
maps  before  him  it  may  be  difficult  to  believe  that  any  one  ever 
supposed  that  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates  came  from  the  same 
source.  But  our  author  was  only  acquainted  with  a  small  area  of 
the  world's  surface,  surrounded  by  vast  unknown  regions,  where 
imagination  had  free  scope.  Out  of  these  unexplored  lands  the 
great  rivers  flowed  into  the  known  world  of  the  day ;  it  seemed 
quite  possible  that  their  courses,  before  they  came  within  the  range 
of  Hebrew  knowledge,  might  so  turn  and  wind  as  to  meet  in  one 
common  origin.  The  sources  of  the  Nile  have  only  been  dis- 
covered in  recent  times.     Cf.  below. 

11.  Pishon.  The  name,  if  it  is  a  real  Hebrew  word,  would  be 
derived  from  a  root  meaning  'to  spring'  or  'leap  up,'  and  might 
be  given  to  any  turbulent  stream.  An  Assyrian  word  pisannu 
is  cited,  meaning  •  water  channel.'  The  position  of  the  river  is 
defined  by  the  statement  that  it  compasseth  the  whole  land  of 
Havilah  .  .  .  where  there  is  gold,  (12)  which  is  good,  together 
with  bdellium  and  the  onyx  stone.  The  position  of  Havilah  is 
uncertain;  the  name1  may  denote  more  than  one  district,  and  the 
products,  gold,  &c,  mentioned  here  are  found  in  too  many  places 
or  are  too  obscure  to  help  us  much.  The  most  probable  view  is 
that  Havilah  is  the  north-east  district  of  Arabia,  which  is  thought 
of  as  extending  indefinitely  eastward.  The  Pishon  might  then  be 
one  of  the  great  Indian  rivers,  the  Indus  or  the  Ganges. 

12.  bdellium2:  a  word  of  uncertain  meaning,  variously 
explained  as  an  aromatic  gum,  or  as  pearls  or  some  kind  of  precious 
stone.  The  latter  view  better  suits  the  connexion  with  gold  and 
the  '  onyx  stone.' 

onyx  3  (marg.  '  beryl ')  stone.  The  word  rendered  thus  has 
also  been  taken  to  mean  \  turquoise,  malachite,  carbuncle,' 
&c. ;  it  denotes  some  precious  stone,  but  we  do  not  know 
which. 

1  Found  Gen.  x.  7,  29  (which  see),  xxv.  18 ;  1  Sam.  xv.  7 ;  1  Chron. 
i.  9,  23. 

2  Heb.  bedolah.  3  Heb.  shoham. 


fc5 


GENESIS  2.  14-17.     J 


„  Gihbn  :  the  same  is  it  that  compasseth  the  whole  land  of 

14  Gush.  .And  the  name  of  the  third  river  is  Hiddekel : 
that  is  it  which  goeth  in  front  of  Assyria.     And  the 

15  foQrlh  ri vex JSr  Euphrates.  And  the  Lord  God  took  the 
man,  zM  jiut  him  into  the  garden  of  Eden  to  dress  it 

16  and  to  "IceefT  it.  And  the  Lord  God  commanded  the 
man,  saying,  Of  every  tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayest  freely 

17  eat :  but  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil, 
thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it :  for  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest 
thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die. 

13.  Gihon1.  Taken  as  a  Hebrew  word  the  name  might  mean 
'  bursting  through  ' ;  a  corresponding  word  Jeihun  is  still  used 
as  the  name  or  title  of  Armenian  and  Indian  rivers.  But  as  this 
river  is  defined  as  compassing  the  whole  land  of  Gush,  and  Cush 
is  usually  Ethiopia,  the  Gihon  is  probably  the  Nile.  Those  who 
wish  to  identify  the  Gihon  and  the  Pishon  with  actual  rivers  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Tigris  suppose  that  Cush  here  is  a  district 
in  Babylonia2. 

14.  Hiddekel:  Tigris;  both  names  are  corruptions  of  theAssyrian 
name  which  is  sometimes  read  as  Idiglat.    Tigris  is  the  Greek  form. 

in  front  of  Assyria :  marg.,  'toward  the  east  of.'  Assyria, 
however,  stretched  both  east  and  west  of  the  Tigris.  Probably  the 
writer  was  only  imperfectlyacquaintedwith  the  political  geography 
of  what  was  to  him  the  Far  East.  It  has  also  been  suggested  that 
Asshur  here  is  not  Assyria,  but  the  ancient  city  of  Asshur,  which 
lay  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tigris. 

15.  dress:  tend. 

16.  The  narrative  is  more  graphic  if  this  verse  is  read  im- 
mediately after  verse  9. 

Of  every  tree  .  .  .  thou  mayest .  .  .  eat.  Nothing  is  said  of 
the  '  herb  yielding  seed,'  the  grain,  which  in  i.  29  is  also  assigned 
to  man  for  food.  In  Paradise  man  was  to  be  spared  the  labour  of 
ploughing,  sowing,  reaping,  thrashing,  &c. 

1*7.  of  the  tree  of  .  . .  knowledge  .  .  .  thou  shalt  not  eat.  As 
the  narrative  stands,  this  prohibition  is  an  arbitrary  test  of 
obedience ;  but  probably  in  the  story  which  the  inspired  writer 
adapted  to  his  purpose  it  was  a  property  of  the  tree  itself  that  its 
fruit  was  fatal  to  men. 

in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die. 

1  Also  the  name  of  a  brook  near  Jerusalem,  1  Kings  i.  33,  &c. 

2  See  on  Gen.  x.  7. 


GENESIS  2.  18,  19.     J  99 

And  the  Lord  God  said,  It  is  not  good  that  the  man  18 
should  be  alone ;  I  will  make  him  an  help  meet  for  him. 
And  out  of  the  ground  the  Lord  God  formed  every  beast  19 
of  the  field,  and  every  fowl  of  the  air ;  and  brought  them 
unto  the  man  to  see  what  he  would  call  them  :   and 
whatsoever  the  man  called  every  living  creature,  that  was 

The  natural  meaning  of  this  is  that  death  would  at  once  follow 
eating  ;  but  in  the  sequel  Adam  and  Eve  do  not  die  at  once,  but, 
apparently,  are  left  to  die  a  natural  death  in  old  age.  The  difficulty 
is  not  serious,  in  any  case  the  point  is  that  but  for  disobedience 
they  would  have  lived  for  ever  in  the  garden  of  Eden  ;  as  it  was, 
they  became  subject  to  death.  How  soon  death  came  was  a 
secondary  matter.  Nevertheless  there  is  a  slight  inconsistency 
which  is  not  removed  by  such  explanations 1  as  that  '  the  troubles 
and  sufferings  to  which  man  became  liable  through  sin  are  nothing 
else  than  disturbances  of  life,  the  beginnings  of  death  ; '  or  the 
Rabbinical  suggestion  that  one  day  with  the  Lord  is  as  a  thousand 
years,  and  that  Adam  and  Eve  died  before  the  end  of  the  first 
millennium.  It  is  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  God  in  His 
mercy  mitigates  the  severity  of  the  penalty  He  had  in  the  first 
instance  ordained  2.  But  probably  here  again  the  difficulty  is  due 
to  imperfect  adaptation  of  ancient  tradition. 

18.  It  is  not  good  that  the  man  shov.ld  he  alone.  Man  is 
essentially  social,  and  only  lives  his  true  life  in  fellowship  with  his 
kind. 

I  will  make  :  not  '  we,'  as  in  the  'Let  us  make'  of  i.  26.  The 
LXX  and  Vulgate  have  '  Let  us  make  '  here  also,  probably  in  order 
to  harmonize  the  two  accounts. 

an  help  meet:  marg.,  (an  help)  'answering  to';  a  suitable 
companion  and  fellow  worker. 

19.  ont  of  the  ground  the  LORD  God  formed,  &c.  We  should 
probably  read  with  the  LXX,  'also  formed.'  Man  and  the  other 
animals  were  fashioned  out  of  the  same  material ;  but  it  is  not 
said  of  them  that  Yahweh  breathed  into  them  the  breath  of  life. 

Notice  the  absence  of  any  reference  to  fishes.  It  was,  indeed, 
obvious  that  a  fish  could  not  be  a  '  help  meet '  for  the  man  ;  still, 
the  silence  on  this  head  probably  shows  that  the  narrative 
originated  in  an  inland  district. 

Corresponding  verses  of  Babylonian  poems  enumerate  a  number 
of  animals,  wild  cow,  &c,  &c,  but  are  similarly  silent  about  the 
fish. 

whatsoever  the  man  called  every  living1  creature,  that 

1  Quoted  with  approval  by  Dillmann.  3  So  Gunkel. 

H  2 


ioo  GENESIS  2.  20-22.     J 

20  the  name  thereof.  And  the  man  gave  names  to  all 
cattle,  and  to  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  to  every  beast  of 
the  field ;  but  for  man  there  was  not  found  an  help  meet 

21  for  him.  And  the  Lord  God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall 
upon  the  man,  and  he  slept ;  and  he  took  one  of  his  ribs, 

22  and  closed  up  the  flesh  instead  thereof:  and  the  rib, 
which  the  Lord  God  had  taken  from  the  man,  made  he 

was  the  name  thereof.  The  man  would  speak  of  each  animal 
according  to  the  impression  he  received  of  its  nature,  use,  &c. ; 
and  the  epithet  or  phrase  he  applied  to  it  would  be  its  name. 
The  only  example  given  is  the  naming  of  the  woman  in  verse  23. 

20.  for  man  (R.  V.  marg.,  '  Adam  ')  there  was  not  found  an 
help  meet  for  him.  Instead  of  '  man  '  we  should  probably  read 
'the  man,'  as  elsewhere  in  this  account.  The  fashioning  of  the 
animals  was  an  unsuccessful  experiment,  a  striking  instance  of 
the  frank  anthropomorphism  of  this  writer.  Nothing  is  said  so 
far  of  any  other  purpose  these  animals  could  serve,  or  of  their 
relation  to  man. 

21.  deep  sleep.  One  word1,  and  that  a  special  term  used  of 
a  trance  or  supernatural  slumber,  e.  g.  of  Abram  when  he  saw  the 
vision  of  the  furnace  and  the  lamp2,  and  of  Saul  and  his  followers 
when  David  was  in  their  camp3.  The  LXX  translates  it  as 
'ecstasy4.'  The  man  was  made  to  sleep  that  he  might  not  see 
the  actual  working  of  Yahweh  ;  in  the  same  way  the  animals 
were  not  fashioned  in  his  presence,  but  elsewhere,  and  were 
'  brought '  to  him. 

22.  made  he  :  R.  V.  marg.,  Heb.  '  builded  he  into,' apparently 
used  as  a  foundation  upon  which  He  constructed  the  woman. 
Here,  as  in  the  case  of  the  animals,  we  are  not  told  that  Yahweh 
breathed  into  her  the  breath  of  life. 

21,  22.  This  'building'  of  the  rib  up  into  a  woman  is  another 
instance  of  the  unhesitating  anthropomorphism  of  the  Primitive 
Document  (J).  The  verses  obviously  provide  an  explanation 
of  the  mutual  affection  of  man  and  woman — it  is  the  natural 
drawing  together  of  two  parts  which  once  belonged  to  the  same 
life  ;  but  the  tradition  hardly  arose  as  a  "theory  to  explain  conjugal 
love.  There  is  more  plausibility  in  the  suggestion  that  the  verses 
are  simply  the  proverb  'Bone  of  my  bone,'  &c,  translated  into 
narrative. 

1  Heb.  tardemah.  2  Gen.  xv.  12. 

3  1  Sam.  xxvi.  12;  cf.  Job  iv.  13,  xxxiii.  15;  Prov.  xix.  15. 

4  Ekstasis. 


GENESIS  2.  23,  24.     J  101 

a  woman,  and  brought  her  unto  the  man.     And  the  man  23 
said,  This  is  now  bone  of  my  bones,  and  flesh  of  my 
flesh  :  she  shall  be  called  Woman,  because  she  was  taken 
out  of  Man.     Therefore  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  24 

23.  This  is  now:  in  contrast  to  the  former  unsatisfactory 
companions  offered  to  him  :  this  time  the  woman  was  a  perfect 
help  meet  for,  or  more  literally  '  corresponding  to,'  the  man. 

bone  of  my  bones,  and  flesh,  of  my  flesh :  a  popular  phrase, 
so  Gen.  xxix.  14,  Laban  of  Jacob  ;  2  Sam.  v.  1,  the  tribes  of  Israel 
of  David,  &c. 

Woman  (Heb.  Ishshah)  .  .  .  Man  (Heb.  Ish).  As  ah  is  the 
feminine  termination  in  Hebrew,  the  word  for  '  woman '  was 
naturally  taken  to  be  the  feminine  of  that  for  c  man.'  The  LXX 
reads,  instead  of  '  out  of  man,'  '  out  of  her  man,'  i.  e.  her  husband 
(Heb.  ishshah  1))  which  makes  the  correspondence  still  closer. 
Modern  lexicons  state  that  there  is  no  etymological  connexion 
between  ish  and  ishshah.  Popular  etymologies  such  as  this  are 
a  characteristic  of  this  document 2 ;  they  are  rather  cases  of 
playing  upon  words  than  serious  etymologies. 

24.  The  Priestly  account  of  the  Creation  culminated  in  the 
institution  of  a  piece  of  religious  ritual,  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  ;  this  narrative  leads  up  to  the  origin  of  matrimony. 
The  verse  can  hardly  have  been  intended  as  a  formal  injunction 
of  monogamy,  but  the  human  race  originates  in  a  pair,  man  and 
woman  ;  and  the  writer  probably  thinks  of  this  as  the  natural 
and  most  desirable  arrangement.  The  explanation  is  sometimes 
given  that  only  one  woman  was  created  because  one  was  sufficient 
for  the  continuance  of  the  race.  This  verse  is  quoted  by  our 
Lord  as  an  argument  against  divorce  for  trivial  reasons3 ;  and  by 
Paul  against  unchastity  *,  and  as  illustrating  the' relation  of  Christ 
to  the  Church  5. 

Therefore  shall  a  man  leave  his  father,  &c.  This  verse  is 
often  understood  to  mean  that  a  man  on  marrying  would  leave 
his  father's  family  and  attach  himself  to  that  to  which  his  wife 
belonged;  and  it  is  therefore  held  to  be  a  reminiscence  of  a  time 
when  a  bridegroom  went  to  live  in  his  wife's  home 6.     The  cases 

1  Some  details  of  the  Hebrew  writing  as  found  in  the  extant  ?JSS. 
and  in  printed  copies  are  ignored,  as  they  were  absent  in  ancient 
Hebrew.     See  p.  42. 

a  See  p.  22.  '  Matt.  xix.  5;  Mark  x.  7. 

4   1  Cor.  vi.  16.  5  Eph.  v.  31. 

6  Such  a  union  is  styled  technically  a  beena  marriage,  and  the 
state  of  society  in  which  it  is  the  custom  the  matriarchate ;  cf« 
Robertson  Smith,  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early  Arabia,  p.  71. 


io2  GENESIS  2.  25.     J 

his  mother,  and  shall  cleave  unto  his  wife  :   and  they 
25  shall  be  one  flesh.     And  they  were  both  naked,  the  man 
and  his  wife,  and  were  not  ashamed. 

of  Jacob  and  of  Moses  are  cited.  The  custom,  however,  did  not 
exist  in  Israel  under  the  monarchy  ;  and  the  verse  may  merely 
refer  to  a  man  setting  up  a  separate  home  for  himself  and  his 
wife,  apart  from  his  parents. 

they.     The    LXX   and    other   ancient   versions   read   'they 
twain,'  and  the  verse  is  quoted  in  this  form  in  the  N.  T. 

25.  naked,  .  . .  and  .  .  .  not  ashamed :  like  children,  especially 
in  the  East,  where  children  habitually  go  naked ;  cf.  on  iii.  7. 

iii.    The  Fall  (J). 

iii.  1-6.  The  serpent  tempts  the  woman,  and  she  eats  the 
forbidden  fruit,  and  induces  the  man  to  do  so  also. 

iii.  7.  They  discover  that  they  are  naked,  and  make  themselves 
aprons. 

iii.  8-10.  Hearing  the  sound  of  Yahweh  walking  in  the  garden 
they  hide  themselves  ;  but  He  calls  to  the  man,  who  excuses 
himself  for  hiding  on  the  ground  that  he  was  naked. 

iii.  11,  12.  Taxed  by  Yahweh,  the  man  acknowledges  that  he 
has  eaten  the  forbidden  fruit,  but  pleads  that  it  was  given  him  by 
the  woman. 

iii.  13.  The  woman  pleads  that  she  was  beguiled  by  the 
serpent. 

iii.  14,  15.  The  curse  on  the  serpent :  it  shall  go  upon  its  bell}-, 
and  eat  dust,  and  be  at  enmity  with  men. 

iii.  16.  The  curse  on  the  woman.  She  shall  suffer  pain  in 
bearing  children,  and  shall  be  subject  to  her  husband. 

iii.  17-19.  The  curse  on  the  man.  He  shall  live  by  wearisome 
drudgery,  and  when  it  is  over  he  shall  return  to  the  dust  from 
which  he  was  fashioned. 

iii.  20.    The  man  names  the  woman,  Eve. 

iii.  21.    Yahweh  makes  skin-coats  for  them. 

iii.  22-24.  Lest  the  man  should  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of 
life,  and  thus  become  immortal,  Yahweh  drives  him  from  the 
garden,  and  stations  Cherubim  to  keep  him  out  of  it. 

(a)  Sources.  Chapter  iii  is  a  continuation  of  ii.  4ft-25 ;  cf, 
what  has  been  said  of  the  sources  of  that  section. 

(b)  Babylonian  Parallels.  In  this  story  the  serpent  plays  the 
part  of  the  enemy  of  God  and  man,  and  is  vanquished  and  cast 
down  by  God.  It  is  one  of  the  many  versions  of  the  contest 
between    the    God    (or    gods)    of  heaven    and    the    powers    of 


GENESIS  3.  i.     J  103 

Now  the  serpent  was  more  subtil  than  any  beast  of  3 

darkness  ;  the  serpent  corresponds  to  Tiamat  and  her  allies  in 
the  Epic  of  Creation l.  There  is  no  exact  parallel  to  this  chapter 
in  Babylonian  documents  yet  discovered  ;  there  are,  however, 
some  slight  points  of  contact  between  it  and  the  story  of  '  Adapa 
and  the  South  Wind,'  which  has  been  found  on  one  of  the 
Amarna  tablets2.  The  similarity  of  the  two  names — Adam, 
Adapa— has  been  cited  as  a  point  of  contact ;  but  is  purely 
accidental3.  Adapa  breaks  the  wings  of  the  South  Wind,  and 
is  summoned  to  give  account  to  Anu* ;  his  father  Ea4  warns  him 
that  he  will  be  offered  '  bread  of  death '  and  '  water  of  death  V 
but  must  refuse  them,  which  he  accordingly  does.  Anu  upbraids 
him,  and — according  to  one  interpretation — tells  him  that  he  has 
lost  immortality  by  his  refusal.  Whether  Anu  is  supposed  to 
be  speaking  the  truth  is  not  obvious.  Clearly  this  story  has  very 
little  in  common  with  our  narrative,  especially  as  regards  moral 
or  spiritual  teaching. 

Forbidden  fruit  or  food  is  a  familiar  feature  of  folklore.  For 
iriatance,  there  is  the  legend  of  the  tree  with  golden  apples  in 
the  garden  of  the  daughters  of  Hesperus,  guarded  by  a  hundred- 
headed  dragon,  which  was  slain6  by  Hercules.  Again,  there  is 
the  story  of  Persephone,  who  had  been  carried  off  to  the  lower 
world.  Hermes  was  sent  to  bring  her  back,  but  it  was  found 
that  she  had  eaten  part  of  a  pomegranate,  and  she  was  obliged 
to  sojourn  in  the  lower  world  for  a  third  of  each  year. 

A  trace  of  a  Babylonian  version  of  the  story  of  the  Fall  is  often 
supposed  to  be  found  in  a  seal,  sometimes  described  in  popular 
works  as  '  representing  the  temptation  of  Adam  and  Eve  and  the 
tree  of  life.'  It  depicts  a  tree  with  fruit  upon  it ;  on  the  two 
sides  there  are  two  clothed  figures  of  a  man  and  a  woman, 
sitting  on  stools  with  their  hands  stretched  out  towards  the 
fruit.  Behind  the  woman  there  is  a  serpent,  erect,  poised 
upon  the  last  fold  of  its  tail,  with  its  head  above  that  of  the 
woman. 

1.  the  serpent.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  serpent  here 
is  a  representative,  and  perhaps  an  unconscious  reminiscence  of 
such  primaeval  powers  of  darkness  as  Tiamat.  So  far  later  exegesis 
is  justified  in  regarding  the  Tempter  as  an  incarnation  of  Satan. 

1  See  p.  69.  2  See  p.  71. 

3  Sayce's  view  that  Adapa  may  be  read  as  Adama  is  not  adopted 
by  other  Assyriologists,  e.  g.  Jensen  and  Gunkel. 

4  Babylonian  Deity. 

5  These  are  called  later  on  by  Anu  '  bread  of  life  '  and  '  water  of  life.' 

6  According  to  one  form  of  the  legend. 


io4  GENESIS  3.  i.     J 

the  field  which  the  Lord  God  had  made.  And  he  said 
unto  the  woman,  Yea,  hath  God  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of 

So  Rev.  xii.  9,  '  The  great  dragon,  .  .  .  the  old  serpent,  he  that  is 
called  the  Devil  and  Satan ' ;  and  Milton1 : — 

'Satan sought 

Where  to  lie  hid 

and  with  inspection  deep 

Considered  every  creature,  which  of  all 

Most  opportune  might  serve  his  wiles ;    and  found 

The  serpent  subtlest  beast  of  all  the  field.' 

Nevertheless  the  idea  is  foreign  to  this  narrative,  in  which  the 
serpent  is  merely  'a.  beast  of  the  field'  which  Yahweh  had  made. 
A  modern  reader  wonders  how  He  came  to  fashion  so  evil 
a  creature,  and  recalls  Omar  Khayyam's  complaint : — 

1  Oh,  Thou,  who  Man  of  baser  Earth  didst  make, 
And  ev'n  with  Paradise  devise  the  Snake.' 

But  obviously  no  such  ideas  were  in  the  mind  of  the  writer.  To 
him,  as  to  Milton's  Satan,  the  repulsive,  venomous  serpent  seemed 
the  ■  fittest  imp  of  fraud,'  the  natural  enemy  of  man.  The  writer, 
a  poet  and  practical  moralist,  of  simple,  childlike  spirit,  did  not 
consider  what  theological  deductions  might  be  drawn  from  the 
mechanism  of  his  story.  Hence  we  must  not  think  that  this 
chapter  offers  us  an  explanation  of  the  origin  of  evil  ;  evil  is 
present  in  the  serpent  before  man  fell,  and  man  sins  through  the 
influence  of  the  evil  outside  of  him.  At  the  same  time  we  must 
remember  that  this  chapter  does  not  belong  to  the  document  in 
which  '  God  saw  everything  that  he  had  made,  and,  behold,  it  was 
very  good ' ;  the  author  of  the  latter  statement  was  not  thinking 
of  the  serpent. 

said.  So  too  the  ass  spoke  to  Balaam  2 ;  moreover,  that  such 
marvels  should  happen  in  the  primaeval  days  before  the  Fall 
seemed  natural  to  the  primitive  imagination. 

God.  It  is  a  characteristic  of  this  document  that  it  uses  the 
Divine  Name,  Yahweh  ;  but  Yahweh  was  the  name  of  the  God 
of  Israel,  and  is  not  usually  put  into  the  mouths  of  non-Israelites, 
or  used  by  Israelites  in  speaking  to  them.  The  ancestors  of 
Israel  are  reckoned  as  Israelites,  or.  as  we  might  say,  c  true 
believers.'     Obviously  the  serpent  was  not  an  Israelite. 

Yea,  hath  God  said  ?  '  Did  God  really  say  ? '  insinuating  that 
the  prohibition  was  absurd,  unreasonable,  incredible.  This  pro- 
hibition was  addressed  to  the  man  before  either  the  animals  or 
the  woman  were  formed,  and  we  are  left  to  imagine  how  the 

1  Paradise  Lost,  Bk.  IX.  2  Num.  xxii.  28. 


GENESIS  3.  2-5.     J  105 

any  tree  of  the  garden  ?  And  the  woman  said  unto  the  2 
serpent,  Of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  of  the  garden  we  may 
eat :  but  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  3 
the  garden,  God  hath  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither 
shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye  die.     And  the  serpent  said  unto  4 
the   woman,    Ye   shall   not  surely  die :    for  God  doth  5 
know  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof,  then  your  eyes  shall 
be  opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  God,  knowing  good  and 

serpent  and  the  woman  became  acquainted  with  it.  No  doubt, 
according  to  a  common  habit  of  mind,  the  author  thought  of  his 
characters  as  knowing  what  he  knew  himself. 

Ye  shall  not  eat  of  any  tree.  The  marginal  alternative,  'all 
the  trees/  is  less  probable  as  a  translation  of  the  actual  words,  and 
is  inconsistent  with  the  context.  The  serpent  '  magnifies  the 
strictness '  of  Yahweh,  a  method  often  adopted  from  better  motives, 
but  with  equally  unfortunate  results. 

3.  the  tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden.  No  second 
tree  is  mentioned,  and  no  name  is  given  to  this  tree.  Possibly  the 
woman  first  learnt  from  the  serpent  the  qualities  of  the  forbidden 
fruit. 

touch.  There  was  no  word  of  '  touching '  in  the  original 
prohibition.  The  woman  had  corrected  the  serpent's  misrepre- 
sentation, but  could  not  refrain  from  a  slight  exaggeration  on  her 
own  account.  Jewish  legend  made  this  the  cause  of  her  fall. 
Hereupon  — it  said — the  serpent  pushed  her  hand  against  the 
tree;  she  touched  it,  and,  of  course,  nothing  happened.  'See,' 
said  he,  '  you  have  broken  the  command  not  to  touch,  and  you  have 
not  died  ;  now  you  can  be  sure  that  you  can  safely  eat  the  fruit.' 

4.  Ye  shall  not  surely  die  :  rather,  'Ye  shall  certainly  not  die.' 

5.  God  doth  know,  &c.  The  serpent  explains  the  prohibition 
as  due  to  God's  jealousy  of  man — a  familiar  idea  in  primitive 
religion,  which  still  survives  side  by  side  with  more  worthy  ideas 
of  the  Deity. 

your  eyes  shall  toe  opened,  to  see  in  things  qualities  to  which 
they  were  as  yet  blind. 

as  God.  The  R.  V.  marg.,  '  as  gods/  would  be  less  definite 
and  emphatic ;  it  would  take  elohim  in  its  general  sense  of  super- 
natural beings,  and  would  make  the  sentence  mean,  'Ye  shall 
have  supernatural  knowledge.'  The  rendering  'God'  is  more 
commonly  adopted. 

The  serpent  charges  God  with  malicious  falsehood.  This  tree — 
according  to  him — might  have  been  a  supreme  blessing  to  man, 
and  God  had  not  only  withheld  it  from  him,  but  had  told  him  lies 


106  GENESIS  3.  6,  7.     J 

6  evil.  And  when  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good 
for  food,  and  that  it  was  a  delight  to  the  eyes,  and  that 
the  tree  was  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,  she  took  of 
the  fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat ;  and  she  gave  also  unto 

7  her  husband  with  her,  and  he  did  eat.  And  the  eyes  of 
them  both  were  opened,  and  they  knew  that  they  were 
naked ;  and  they  sewed  fig  leaves  together,  and  made 

about  it,  obviously  because  He  could  not  otherwise  have  prevented 
him  from  eating  the  fruit. 

6.  the  woman  saw,  &c.  Hitherto,  perhaps,  the  prohibition  had 
led  the  woman  to  think  of  the  forbidden  fruit  as  harmful,  poisonous, 
as  we  should  say,  and  she  had  shrunk  from  it.  Now  she  saw  it 
in  a  new  light,  her  eyes  seemed  already  opened.  The  fruit  was 
to  be  the  source  of  great  and  mysterious  blessings.  She  looked 
at  it  more  attentively,  and  it  seemed  beautiful  and  appetizing. 

to  "be  desired  to  make  one  wise.  This  would  be  suggested 
by  the  serpent's  words,  and  she  might  think  that  she  '  saw '  some 
indication  of  this  quality ;  but  perhaps  we  should  translate  with 
R.  V.  marg.,  'desirable  to  look  upon.' 

she  took  .  .  .  and  did  eat.  Her  eyes  and  her  mind  were 
possessed  with  the  fascinations  of  the  tree,  she  could  not  but  eat. 

gave  also  unto  her  husband  .  .  .  and  he  did  eat.  The 
process  in  the  man's  case  was  no  doubt  the  same  as  that  just 
described,  the  woman  taking  the  place  of  the  serpent.  The 
woman  probably  found  the  fruit  pleasant,  and  told  her  husband  so. 
So  far  it  seemed  as  if  the  serpent  were  right,  and  the  woman  felt 
that  she  was  asking  her  husband  to  share  a  great  privilege.  The 
Rabbis  give  another  explanation:  '  She  thought  within  herself,  If 
I  die,  let  my  husband  also  die,  that  he  may  not  take  another 
wife.' 

1.  the  eyes  of  them  both  were  opened.  So  far  the  promise  of 
the  serpent  was  fulfilled. 

they  knew  that  they  were  naked.  They  became  conscious 
of  sex,  and  experienced  a  feeling  of  shame.  This  was  the  first- 
fruits,  and  also  an  example  of  the  gift  of  knowledge  acquired  by 
eating  the  forbidden  fruit.  It  was  no  longer  pleasant,  but  un- 
comfortable and  distressing.  The  example  shows  us  that  hitherto 
they  had  been  mentally  children,  innocent  and  inexperienced  ;  the 
fruit  had  bestowed  upon  them  in  a  moment  the  knowledge  which 
ordinary  adults  obtain  through  gradual  experience. 

fig1  leaves :  though  small  and  not  very  suitable  for  the  purpose, 
they  are  said  to  be  the  largest  leaves  of  trees  available  in 
Palestine.     It  has  been  suggested  that  the  'fig'  here  is  not  the 


GENESIS  3.  8-12.     J  107 

themselves  aprons.     And  they  heard  the  voice  of  the  8 
Lord  God  walking  in  the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day  : 
and  the  man   and   his   wife  hid  themselves  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  God  amongst  the  trees  of  the 
garden.     And  the  Lord  God  called  unto  the  man,  and  9 
said  unto  him,  Where  art  thou  ?     And  he  said,  I  heard  10 
thy  voice  in  the  garden,  and  I  was  afraid,  because  I  was 
naked ;  and  I  hid  myself.     And  he  said,  Who  told  thee  1 1 
that  thou  wast  naked?     Hast  thou  eaten  of  the  tree, 
whereof  I  commanded  thee  that  thou  shouldest  not  eat  ? 
And  the  man  said,  The  woman  whom  thou  gavest  to  be  1 2 

usual  fig-tree,  but  another  large-leaved  tree,  perhaps  the  banana. 
Such  a  view  is  very  improbable.  How  did  the  man  and  woman, 
who  had  never  worn  clothes,  learn  to  sew  ?  Was  this  also  part 
of  the  newly  gained  knowledge  ?  The  author  probably  forgot  for 
the  moment  the  special  conditions  of  his  narrative,  and  wrote  as 
if  the  man  and  woman  were  people  of  his  own  time.  The  mention 
of  fig  leaves  has  suggested  that  the  tree  of  knowledge  was 
a  fig-tree. 

aprons  :  rather  as  R.  V.  marg.,  <  girdles'  or  loin-cloths. 

8.  they  heard,  &c,  &c.  The  garden  is  the  home  of  Yahweh,  as 
well  as  of  the  man  and  woman.  Like  some  Eastern  householder, 
He  walks  in  His  garden  to  enjoy  the  freshness  of  the  evening 
breeze.     The  man  and  woman  hear  the  sound  of  His  footsteps. 

voice:  rather  as  R.  V.  marg.,  '  sound.' 

cool:  literally,  as  R.  V.  marg.,  Heb.  'wind.* 

hid  themselves,  conscious  of  their  disobedience,  and  ashamed 

of  their  nakedness,  against  which  the  fig  leaves  only  imperfectly 

provided. 

9.  Where  art  thou?  Hitherto  they  had  fearlessly  met  with 
Yahweh  and  walked  with  Him  when  He  came  to  the  garden. 
Their  absence  itself  suggested  that  they  had  been  disobedient. 
The  mere  question  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  Yahweh  did 
not  know  where  the  man  was,  but  such  an  idea  would  be  in 
keeping  with  the  frank  anthropomorphism  of  the  narrative. 

10.  I  was  afraid,  because  I  was  naked.  Doubtless  true  as 
far  as  it  went,  but  not  the  whole  truth.  Naturally  the  man  does 
not  acknowledge  the  chief  cause  of  his  fear— his  disobedience. 

11.  Who  told  thee,  &c.  The  man's  excuse  betrayed  him;  it 
showed  that  he  was  in  possession  of  new  knowledge,  which  could 
only  have  come  to  him  by  eating  the  forbidden  fruit. 

12.  The  woman  whom  thou  gavest,  &c.     The  man  hints  that 


io8  GENESIS  3.  13-15.     J 

13  with  me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I  did  eat.  And 
the  Lord  God  said  unto  the  woman,  What  is  this  thou 
hast  done  ?  And  the  woman  said,  The  serpent  beguiled 

14  me,  and  I  did  eat.  And  the  Lord  God  said  unto  the 
serpent,  Because  thou  hast  done  this,  cursed  art  thou 
above  all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the  field ;  upon 
thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the 

15  days  of  thy  life :  and  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and 

Yahweh  Himself  is  to  blame,  because  He  had  given  him  a  temptress 
for  his  companion. 

13.  tlie  LOBD  God  said  unto  the  woman,  &c.  Yahweh  takes 
no  notice  of  the  man's  excuses  and  insinuations  ;  but  gives  the 
woman,  in  her  turn,  an  opportunity  of  speaking  for  herself. 

14.  the  LORD  God  said  unto  the  serpent,  &c.  The  woman's 
excuse  is  not  discussed.  Yahweh's  questions  have  now  extracted 
the  whole  story,  and  He  asks  nothing  of  the  serpent. 

cursed  .  .  .  above  all  cattle :  rather  as  R.  V.  marg.,  '  from 
among  all  cattle,' i.e.  the  curse  laid  upon  the  serpent  separated 
and  distinguished  it  from  all  other  animals.  There  is  no  question 
in  this  narrative  of  any  cursing  of  animals  generally,  though  the 
ground  is  cursed.  Possibly  the  life  of  the  animals  seemed  happy 
compared  to  that  of  man.  On  the  other  hand,  Paul's  statement1, 
that  '  the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  together  in  pain 
until  now,' may  imply  that  the  animals  were  included  in  the  curse. 
We  need  hardly  discuss  the  objection  that  the  serpent  should  not 
have  been  cursed  because  animals  are  not  responsible.  Our  author's 
moral  philosophy  did  not  make  these  fine  distinctions  between 
men  and  animals.  In  any  case  a  beast  which  could  talk,  and 
tempt  man,  and  tell  lies  about  God  might  very  well  be  morally 
responsible. 

upon  thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat. 
That  serpents  ate  dust  was  '  a  widespread  belief  among  the 
ancients2,'  deduced  no  doubt  from  the  constant  proximity  of  the 
serpent's  head  to  the  dust.  It  is  implied  that  before  the  Fall 
the  serpent  did  not  crawl  upon  its  bell}7,  and  lived  upon  something 
else  other  than  dust.  In  the  seal  mentioned  above 3  the  serpent  is 
shown  erect  upon  its  tail.  These  details  show  that  the  author 
is  thinking  of  an  animal ;  to  go  upon  his  belly  and  to  eat  dust 
would  not  be  a  suitable  curse  for  the  Devil. 

15.  I  will  put  enmity,  &c.  Part  of  the  curse  upon  the  serpent 
is   the   constant  feud    between   the  serpent  tribe   and  mankind, 

1  Rom.  viii.  22.  2  Dillmann.  3  See  p.  103. 


GENESIS  3.  1 6.     J  109 

the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed :  it  shall 
bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel.     Unto  16 

a  curse  on  both  parties,  exposing  the  one  to  incessant  persecution 
and  the  other  to  danger  and  annoyance. 

it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel. 
The  correct  rendering  and  interpretation  of  this  clause  are  doubtful, 
partly  because  the  word  1  rendered  '  bruise '  is  very  rare,  and  of 
uncertain  meaning;  it  only  occurs  here  and  in  Job  ix.  17,  R.V., 
'he  breaketh  me  with  a  tempest,'  and  in  Ps.  cxxxix.  11,  R.  V., 
'overwhelm,'  marg.  'cover.'  The  R.  V.  rendering  here,  'bruise,1 
or  better  '  crush,'  is  supported  by  the  use  of  the  root  in  Aramaic. 
Another  rendering,  '  lie  in  wait  for,'  has  been  obtained  from  the 
use  of  a  similar  root  in  that  sense.  The  Syriac  version  and  some 
MSS.  of  the  LXX  have  a  similar  translation  to  that  of  the  R.  V. 
The  mention  of  head  and  heel  is  easily  understood  ;  man  attacks 
the  serpent's  head  in  order  to  deal  a  fatal  blow ;  while  the  man's 
heel  is  most  accessible  to  the  serpent.  'Crush'  or  'bruise,' 
however,  is  not  a  suitable  term  for  a  serpent's  sting ;  but  the  use 
of  a  single  verb  with  two  different  objects  when  it  only  suits  one 
of  them,  though  lax,  is  not  impossible 2.  The  alternative  rendering, 
'  lie  in  wait  for,'  given  in  the  margin  of  the  R.  V.,  is  adopted  by 
the  better  MSS.  of  the  LXX.  The  man  and  the  serpent  are 
thus  described  as  continually  seeking  to  destroy  each  other ; 
which,  as  far  as  the  man  is  concerned,  seems  a  little  beneath  his 
dignity.  The  Vulgate  avoids  the  difficulties  of  both  these  render- 
ings by  giving  the  word  different  meanings  in  the  two  clauses  ; 
thus, '  She  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  lay  snares  for  her3 
heel.'  The  use  of  one  word  in  a  single  sentence  in  two  senses 
would  be  startling,  but  the  writers  of  the  O.  T.  were  rather  fond 
of  playing  upon  words  in  this  fashion.  The  reader  will  notice  the 
'she4'  of  the  Vulgate,  which  was  interpreted  by  mediaeval  commen- 
tators as  meaning  the  Virgin  Mary. 

This  verse  has  often  been  regarded  as  a  Protevangelion  or  first 
announcement  of  the  gospel  of  redemption.  The  'seed  of  the 
woman,'  according  to  this  view,  is  Christ,  who  crushes  the  serpent's 
head,  i.  e.  destroys  the  power  of  sin  and  Satan  ;  although  He 
Himself  suffers  in  doing  so  — Satan  'bruises  his  heel.'  The  latter 
phrase,  however,  seems  singularly  inappropriate  for  the  Passion. 
There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  any  such  ideas  were  in  the  mind 
of  the  writer ;  but  the  contest  between  mankind  and  the  serpent 
naturally  became  a  symbol  of  the  conflict  between  good  and  evil, 

1  Heb.  shuph. 

2  The  usage  is  recognized,  and  labelled  by  a  technical  term,  zeugma. 
8  Or  '  his '  or  *  its,'  ejus.  *  Ipsa. 


no  GENESIS  3.  17.     J 

the  woman  he  said,  I  will  greatly  multiply  thy  sorrow 
and  thy  conception;  in  sorrow  thou  shalt  bring  forth 
children ;  and  thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband, 
and  he  shall  rule  over  thee.     And  unto  Adam  he  said, 

in  which  the  good  triumphed  in  the  person  of  Christ,  but  conquered 
through  suffering.  Moreover,  ancient  readers  of  this  story  knew 
parallel  narratives,  in  which  the  serpent  was  an  evil  god  and  his 
antagonist  a  Divine  redeemer,  and  would  naturally  find  a  similar 
meaning  here. 

The  serpent  is  partly  punished  through  the  woman  whom  he 
has  injured  ;  and  its  false  pretence  of  friendship  leads  to  lasting 
enmity. 

16.  thy  sorrow  and  thy  conception:  a  pair  of  words  ex- 
pressing the  single  idea — '  thy  painful  conception,'  i.  e.  the 
sufferings  of  pregnancy  and  birth.  Instead  of  '  conception '  the 
LXX  reads  '  groaning,'  which  is  accepted  by  some  scholars.  The 
writer  simply  intends  to  tell  us  that  the  sufferings  of  woman's 
sexual  life  are  the  punishment  of  the  sin  of  the  first  woman— the 
sin  by  which  she  became  conscious  of  her  sex.  It  is  true  that 
the  narrative,  as  it  stands,  seems  to  imply  that  no  children  were 
born  before  the  Fall,  but  the  writer  can  hardly  have  meant  that 
no  children  would  have  been  born  but  for  the  Fall.  But,  in  any 
case,  it  is  remarkable  that  in  the  Priestly  Document  the  increase 
of  the  human  race  is  due  to  the  Divine  blessing,  here  it  is  con- 
nected with  sin  and  the  Divine  curse. 

thy  desire :  another  rare  word,  only  elsewhere  of  Abel  in 
relation  to  Cain l,  and  of  '  the  beloved '  in  relation  to  Solomon  2. 
The  longing  of  the  woman  for  the  man  is  supposed  to  be  greater 
than  vice  versa  ;  and  this  is  reckoned  as  part  of  the  suffering  borne 
by  woman  as  the  penalty  of  her  sin.  The  LXX  has  'thy 
returning3.' 

he  shall  rule  over  thee:  the  subjection  of  the  wife  to  the 
husband,  which  almost  amounted  to  slavery  in  the  ancient  East, 
is  also  part  of  the  punishment  of  the  first  sin.  The  woman,  like 
the  serpent,  is  partly  punished  through  the  person  she  has  injured. 
17-19.  The  curse  on  the  man  must  obviously  apply  also  to 
the  woman,  otherwise  she  would  remain  immortal.  Thus  the 
heaviest  punishment  falls  upon  her. 

17.  Adam:  better  'the  man* ;  Adam  is  not  used  as  a  proper 
name  till  v.  1  *.     See,  however,  on  iv.  25. 

1  Gen.  iv.  7.  2  Song  of  Sol.  vii.  10. 

3  Apostrophe,  so  also  in  Gen.  iv.  7;  and  similarly  in  Song  of  Sol. 
vii.  10,  epistrophe. 

4  Priestly  Document. 


GENESIS  3.  18-20.     J  in 

Because  thou  hast  hearkened  unto  the  voice  of  thy  wife, 
and  hast  eaten  of  the  tree,  of  which  I  commanded  thee, 
saying,  Thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it :  cursed  is  the  ground 
for  thy  sake ;  in  toil  shalt  thou  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of 
thy  life ;  thorns  also  and  thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  to  18 
thee;  and  thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field;  in  the  19 
sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,  till  thou  return 
unto  the  ground ;  for  out  of  it  wast  thou  taken  :  for  dusfc 
thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return.     And  the  *nan  2° 
called  his  wife's  name  Eve ;  because  she  was  the  mother 

cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy  sake.  In  order  1°  punish  the 
man  the  ground  is  made  fertile  only  in  weeds,  tpat  man  s  work 
may  be  hard  and  his  reward  small.  These  ve,rses  show  that 
agriculture  was  regarded  by  the  writer  as  a  than^ess  drudgery. 
The  Hebrew  of '  for  thy  sake,'  as  it  would  be  writ*?11  originally, 
might  mean  'on  account  of  thy  transgression/  and  J*-  has  been  so 
translated.  A  very  slight  alteration  would  give  us  when  thou 
tillest  it,'  which  is  substantially  the  rendering  of  the  LXX,  and  is 
supported  by  the  parallel  of  iv.  12.  A  similar  uncertainly  Caches 
to  viii.  21  (which  see). 

toil :  marg.,  '  sorrow ' ;  the  Hebrew  word  is  the  same  .as  tna* 
translated  'sorrow'  in  the  curse  on  the  woman,  verse  16.      '  **>■ 

18.  thou  shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field.  Instead  of  living  on 
the  fruit  of  trees,  which  involved  little  work,  man  would  have  to 
undergo  the  drudgery  of  cultivating  the  soil.  Here  again  what  is 
a  blessing  in  i.  29  appears  as  a  curse  in  this  narrative. 

19.  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return:  and  thus  the  threatened 
death  would  be  inflicted  ;  cf.  on  ii.  17. 

20.  This  verse  is  not  generally  accepted  as  part  of  the  main 
narrative,  but  is  regarded  as  an  addition  from  another  source. 
As  it  stands,  it  connects  with  the  reference  to  child-bearing  in 
verse  16 ;  but  the  man  would  not  make  a  curse  the  occasion  of 
giving  the  woman  an  honourable  title  ;  moreover  he  had  already 
named  her  in  ii.  23. 

Eve:  marg.,  Heb.  Havvah,  that  is,  'Living,'  or,  'Life.'  The 
LXX  renders  the  word  here  Zoe,  l  Life ' ;  elsewhere  it  gives  Etta 
or,  more  probably,  Heua ;  the  Vulgate  has  Neva.  The  verse 
connects  the  name  with  the  Hebrew  root  for  '  life,  live,'  &c.  It 
has  also  been  connected  with  the  Arabic  hayy,  'kindred,'  the 
woman  as  mother  being  the  recognized  bond  of  kinship  in  some 
primitive  states  of  society.  The  name  no  doubt  comes  from  ancient 
Semitic    tradition,   and    may   not   be   Hebrew   at   all,    but    only 


ii2  GENESIS  3.  21-24.     J 

21  of  all  living.  And  the  Lord  God  made  for  Adam  and 
for  his  wife  coats  of  skins,  and  clothed  them. 

22  And  the  Lord  God  said,  Behold,  the  man  is  become 
as  one  of  us,  to  know  good  and  evil;  and  now,  lest 
he  put  forth  his  hand,   and   take  also  of  the  tree  of 

23  life,  and  eat,  and  live  for  ever :  therefore  the  Lord  God 
sent   him   forth  from  the  garden  of  Eden,   to  till  the 

2  4  gr^und  from  whence  he  was  taken.  So  he  drove  out  the 
man,.  and  he  piaced  at  the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden 

hebraized  in  . ,  .  .^  ag  ,  Boulogne .  (Gate)  is  anglicized  into 

Bull  and  ^a  )  ^  Aramaic  hewya  means  '  serpent ' ;  and  it  has 
been  conjectur  ^^  ^  ^me  COmes  from  a  tradition  in  which 
the  '  m^her  oia^  ,  w&g  the  primaeval  dragon. 

21.  the  jm    '     God  made  _  _  _  coatg  of  skins>  having  apparently 

slain  ammais    -  purpose,  another  example  of  the  writer's 

anthropomorp-ism> 

Adam  .   i.^^  < the  man  i .    cf>  verse  I?. 

coats :  ^  under.garments,  shirts,  vests,'  to  replace  the  loin- 
cloths ot  Pg  ]eaves  wnich  had  already  been  felt  to  be  inadequate, 
verse  icy  Thig  act  of  Yahweh  shows  that  He  still  cared  for  man's 
welfar^  jn  s^tQ  of  sin  and  the  conseqUent  curse.  It  is  sometimes 
supposed  that  the  original  narrative  of  Eden  and  the  Fall  ends 
here,  and  that  verses  22-24,  and  the  reference  to  the  l  tree  of  life ' 
in  ii.  9,  are  an  addition  from  another  document.  The  following 
notes  will  show  that  the  standpoint  of  these  verses  seems  to  differ 
somewhat  from  that  of  the  preceding  narrative. 

22.  In  this  verse  Yahweh  seems  to  show  just  that  fear,  lest 
man  become  unduly  gifted,  which  the  serpent  falsely  attributes  to 
Him  in  verse  5.     Nothing  is  said  of  the  woman  in  these  verses. 

is  become  as  one  of  ns:  i.e.  had  attained  to  supernatural 
knowledge.     For  the  '  us  '  see  on  i.  26. 

tree  of  life  :  see  on  ii.  9. 

live  for  ever.  The  sentence  is  unfinished,  perhaps  for 
rhetorical  effect. 

24.  he  placed  at  the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden  the  Cherubim. 
The  LXX  has  'he  placed  him,'  i.e.  the  man,  'at  the  east,  &c, 
and  he  stationed  the  Cherubim,'  a  reading  adopted  by  some 
scholars.  According  to  this  verse  the  man  lived  on  the  east  of 
Eden,  i.  e.  Eden  lay  to  the  west,  whereas  according  to  ii.  8  it  lay 
to  the  east.  Apart  from  the  reading  of  the  LXX,  the  Cherubim 
must  have  been  stationed  on  the  east,  because  the  man  lived 
eastward  of  Eden. 


GENESIS  3.  24.     J  113 

the  Cherubim,  and  the  flame  of  a  sword  which  turned 
every  way,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life. 

the  Cherubim  mostly  appear  as  the  bearers  or  the  guards 
of  the  throne  of  Yahvveh.  Thus  the  mercy-seat,  His  earthly 
throne,  is  guarded  by  two  Cherubim 1  ;  and  He  f  sits  between  the 
Cherubim2';  there  were  figures  of  Cherubim  on  the  veils  of  the 
Tabernacle,  and  on  the  walls  of  the  Temple 3.  Yahweh  rides  upon 
a  Cherub 4,  and  the  mysterious  beings  which  were  seen  by  Ezekiel 5 
bearing  the  throne  of  God  are  called  Cherubim.  The  Cherubim 
were  winged6;  in  the  elaborate  but  obscure  description  in  Ezekiel7 
the  cherub  has  four  faces,  of  a  man,  a  lion,  an  ox,  and  an  eagle  ; 
but  the  prophet  does  not  seem  to  follow  ancient  Israelite  tradition. 
The  origin  both  of  the  idea  and  of  the  name8  are  unknown.  In 
Egyptian  monuments  winged  figures  are  depicted  on  the  top  of 
sacred  chests,  and  statues  of  winged  man-headed  bulls  were 
common  in  Assyria,  where  also  winged  figures  are  shown  in 
connexion  with  sacred  trees.  The  Cherubim  have  also  been  com- 
pared to  the  mythical  griffin  9,  a  winged  creature  with  lion's  claws, 
eagle's  beak,  &c.  They  are  often  regarded  as  personifying  thunder- 
clouds ;  if  so,  the  flame  of  a  sword,  i.  e.  the  flaming  sword, 
would  be  suggested  by  the  lightning. 

iv.  1- 16.     Cain  and  Abel  (J). 

iv.  1,  2.     Birth  and  occupations  of  Cain  and  Abel. 

iv.  3-5.  Their  offerings ;  Abel's  is  accepted,  but  Cain's  is  re- 
jected, and  he  is  wroth. 

iv.  6,  7.      Yahweh  remonstrates  with  Cain. 

iv.  8.     Cain  murders  Abel. 

iv.  9-12.  Yahweh  reproaches  Cain  with  his  crime,  and  lays 
a  curse  upon  him. 

iv.  13-15.  Cain  begs  that  he  may  be  protected  from  blood- 
revenge,  and  to  that  end  Yahweh  gives  him  a  sign. 

iv.  16.     Cain  goes  into  exile. 

(a)  Source.  This  narrative  was  taken  from  the  Primitive  Docu- 
ment. It  may— or  may  not— have  been  originally  part  of  the  same 
story  as  that  which  tells  us  of  the  Creation  and  the  Fall.  The 
Divine  Name  is  no  longer  Yahweh  Elohim,  <  Lord  God,'  but  simply 


1  Exod.  xxv.  18-22.  2   1  Sam.  iv.  4. 

3  Exod.  xxvi.  1;   1  Kings  vi.  35.  4  Ps.  xviii.  10. 

5  Ezek.  x.  1.  6  Exod.  xxv.  20.  Ezek.  \,  ix,  x. 

8  The  statement  that  kirubu  is  found  as  the  name  of  winged  bulls 
in  Assyria,  and  that  this  is  the  origin  of  'Cherub,'  is  not  commonly 
accepted. 

9  Greek,  grups. 

I 


Ti4  GENESIS  4.  i.     3 

And  the  man  knew  Eve  his  wife ;  and  she  conceived, 
and  bare  Cain,  and  said,  I  have  gotten  a  man  with  the 

Yahweh,  'Lord'  ;  cf.  on  ii.  4.  There  are  obvious  obscurities  and 
omissions,  e.  g.  the  absence  of  any  reason  why  Cain's  offering  was 
rejected,  which  show  that  one  of  the  editors  has  altered  the 
original  narrative  ;  doubtless  because  some  of  its  features  were 
not  in  accordance  with  more  advanced  religious  views. 

(b)  Origin  of  the  Narrative.  Nothing  has  yet  been  found  in 
Babylonian  or  Egyptian  inscriptions  which  can  be  regarded  as 
the  origin  of  this  narrative  or  as  a  real  parallel  to  it.  But  it  seems 
to  have  been  adapted  from  some  non-Israelite  tradition.  It  sets 
forth  God's  condemnation  of  murder,  andjhe  orighi_pf^h^£us^om 
of  blood-revengejthe  latter,  somewhat  curiously,  in  the  vengeance 
to^TTaTcelTonany  one  who  should  kill  Cain.  In  the  original  story 
the  reason  for  the  rejection  of  Cain's  offering  would  be  an  important 
feature.  As  Cain  is  elsewhere  the  name  of  a  people  \  the  story 
has  the  appearance  of  a  piece  of  tribal  folklore  ;  but  this  name 
may  not  have  belonged  to  the  original. 

The  similarity  of  names  has  led  to  the  suggestion  that  Cam  and 
Abel  here  are  the  same  as  the  Tubal-cain  and  Jabal  of  verses  20 
and  22  (which  see). 

1.  Cain.  The  name  in  this  document  (J)  is  given  by  the 
mother ;  an  indication  that  this  was  the  older  usage  ;  we  gather 
from  the  Priestly  Document  that  in  later  times  the  father  named 
the  child2.  .<= 

<  Cain '  is  used  in  Hebrew  also  as  a  common  noun  for  lance, 
and  in  allied  languages  for  'smith,'  so  in  verse  22  Tubal-cain  is 
the  first  smith.  The  connexion  here  with  kanah,  'he  acquired.' 
is  rather  a  play  upon  the  words  than  an  etymology.  '  Cain  is 
also  the  Hebrew  name  of  the  people  known  to  us  as  the  Kenites  ". 
The  antediluvian  Cainan4  is  another  form  of  Cain.  According  to 
some  this  story  is  really  about  the  Kenites,  the  tribe  '  Cain '  being 
personified  as  an  individual  'Cain.'  The  Kenites  were  nomads 
to  the  south  of  Judah,  and  the  story  would  thus  explain  that  they 
came  to  be  nomads  through  murderous  outrages  against  allied  or 
'brother'  tribes.  There  are  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  ac- 
cepting this  view  ;  obviously  the  Kenites  would  not  have  told  such 
a  story  against  themselves,  and  the  Israelites  were  usually  on 
friendly  terms  with  them.  . 

I  have  gotten  a  man  with  the  help  of  the  &OKP.     It  is 

1  See  on  verse  1 .  . 

2  So  in  xxi.  3,  Abraham  names  Isaac ;  cf.  Luke  1.  62  1. 

3  Num.  xxiv.  22,  &c,  more  commonly   in   the   patronymic  form 
'Cainite,'  kenu 

*  Gen.  v.  9-14. 


GENESIS  4.  2-4.     J  115 

of  the  Lord.     And  again  she  bare  his  brother  Abel.  2 
And  Abel  was  a  keeper  of  sheep,  but  Cain  was  a  tiller 
of  the  ground.     And  in  process  of  time  it  came  to  pass,  3 
that  Cain  brought  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground  an  offering 
unto  the  Lord.     And   Abel,  he  also   brought  of  the  4 
firstlings  of  his  flock  and  of  the  fat  thereof.     And  the 

doubtful  whether  this  is  the  right  translation  of  the  Hebrew. 
A  more  natural  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  as  it  stands  would  be, 
'  I  have  gotten  a  man,  even  the  Lord,'  a  meaning  sometimes  given 
to  the  text,  it  being  supposed  that  Eve  was  looking  for  the  Mes- 
siah or  Divine  Redeemer,  and  understood  that  He  would  be  alike 
human,  '  a  man,'  and  Divine,  '  Yahweh,'  i.  e.  God  incarnate.  But 
we  can  hardly  credit  Eve  with  so  accurate  an  anticipation  of  Nicene 
theology.  The  A.  V.,  'a  man  from  the  Lord,'  i_  not  really  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Hebrew  as  it  stands,  but  follows  an  ancient  version  * 
made  from  a  manuscript  with  a  slightly  different  reading.  We 
cannot  now  be  sure  as  to  what  was  written  originally. 

2.  Abel.  No  explanation  is  given  of  this  name,  which  only 
occurs  as  a  name  in  this  chapter.  But  the  word 2  also  occurs  as 
a  common  noun,  'vapour,  breath,'  and  an  Israelite  reader  would 
think  '  vapour '  a  suitable  name  for  a  chajji^Jerwho  appears  in 
history  only  to  die.  The  name,  however,  may  nor~b"e-4ie_brew, 
and  is  sometimes  connected  with  the  Assyrian  ablit  or  aplu,  '  son.' 
Others  see  in  it  axorruption  of  Jabal,  or  understand  it  to  mean  herds- 
man, &c.    There  is  nothing  to  connect  the  name  Abel  with  any  tribe. 

3.  in  process  of  time.  When  the  brothers  had  grown  up,  so 
that  there  is  an  interval  of  many  years  between  verses  1  and  3. 

And  ...  it  came  to  pass,  that.  This  phrase  is  far  too 
emphatic  and  almost  solemn  for  the  single,  short,  unemphatic 
Hebrew  word3  it  represents.  We  have  no  equivalent  English 
idiom,  and  the  force  of  the  original  would  be  most  nearly  expressed 
by  omitting  the  'came  to  pass.'  Here,  for  instance,  'And  in 
process  of  time  Cain  brought'  ;  or  perhaps  by  'Now  .  .  .  Cain 
brought,'  or  the  colloquial  'And  so  .  .  .  Cain  brought.' 

brought  ...  an  offering".  The  author  assumes  the  existence 
of  altars,  and  of  the  custom  of  sacrifice,  without  giving  any  account 
of  their  origin.  It  is  quite  in  accordance  with  the  simplicity  of 
early  tradition  that  it  should — almost  in  the  same  breath — explain 
the  origin  of  some  institutions  and  take  for  granted  the  existence 
of  others. 

4.  firstling's  .  .  .  fat.  The  choicest  animals,  and  the  choicest 
part  of  the  animals;  Num.  xviii.  17. 

1  Targum  of  Jonathan.  2  Hebel.  3   Way* hi. 

I  2 


u6  GENESIS  4.  5-7.     J 

5  Lord  had  respect  unto  Abel  and  to  his  offering :  but 
unto  Cain  and  to  his  offering  he  had  not  respect.     And 

6  Cain  was  very  wroth,  and  his  countenance  fell.  And 
the  Lord  said  unto  Cain,  Why  art  thou  wroth  ?  and  why 

7  is  thy  countenance  fallen  ?  If  thou  doest  well,  shalt  thou 
not  be  accepted  ?  and  if  thou  doest  not  well,  sin  coucheth 
at  the  door :  and  unto  thee  shall  be  his  desire,  and  thou 

4,  5.  the  IiOSD  had  respect,  &c.  Yahweh  '  had  respect/  i.  e. 
approved  of,  and  accepted.  We  are  not  told  how  acceptance  was 
indicated.  Perhaps  the  original  author  had  in  mind  some  omen, 
like  the  appearance  of  the  entrails  in  a  Roman  sacrifice.  Why 
He  'had  respect  unto'  Abel  and  not  unto  Cain  is  not  explained. 
Verse  7  speaks  of '  doing  well'  and  'not  well,'  but  the  question  is 
what  were  the  actual  well-doing  and  ill-doing  in  the  present 
instance?  Many  answers  have  been  given  to  this  question,  but 
none  of  them  are  satisfactory.  Thus,  that  Cain's  character  and 
life  were  evil  and  Abel's  good  ;  or  that  Yahweh  required  a  sacri- 
fice of  flesh  ;  or  that  He  approved  of  herdsmen,  and  not  of  peasants 
cultivating  the  ground.  No  doubt  the  story  in  its  original  form 
stated  the  ground  of  acceptance  and  rejection,  and  this  statement 
has  been  omitted  because  it  was  not  in  accordance  with  the  more 
advanced  teaching  of  revelation.  Probably  Cain's  error  lay  in 
some  failure  of  ritual ;  cf.  on  verse  7. 

*J.  The  Hebrew  of  this  verse  is  unintelligible,  and  the  form  in 
which  we  now  have  it  cannot  be  that  in  which  it  stood  in  the 
original  story.  This  original  text  cannot  now  be  restored.  The 
alteration  may  be  due  to  careless  copying,  and  perhaps  also 
to  the  same  reason  which  led  to  the  omission  of  the  ground  of 
the  rejection  of  Cain  ;  see  on  verse  5. 

shalt  thou  not  be  accepted?  marg. ,  '  shall  it  not  be  lifted  up  ? ' 
a  more  literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew,  which  might  mean  'shall  not 
the  countenance  be  lifted  up?';  cf.  the  'fallen'  of  the  previous  verses, 

sin  coucheth  at  the  door :  i.  e.  like  a  wild  beast  waiting  to 
spring  upon  Cain.  'Sin'  might  stand  here  for  the  punishment, 
or  the  guilt,  or  the  power  of  sin.  The  latter  is  perhaps  supported 
by  the  close  of  the  verse.  Others  render  '  a  sin-offering  lies  at 
the  door,'  i.  e.  '  the  means  of  atonement  are  ready  to  hand.' 

unto  thee  shall  be  his  desire,  &c.  '  Desire '  is  the  word 
used  in  iii.  16,  and  in  the  R.  V.  text  apparently  'his'  and  'him' 
refer  to  Abel,  and  the  meaning  is  that  Cain  was  jealous  of  Abel, 
but  that  he  had  no  need  to  be  so,  because  if  Cain  behaved  well 
Abel  his  3'ounger  brother  would  look  up  to  him,  and  be  dependent 
on  him,  and  obey  him,  as  a  wife  does  her  husband. 


GENESIS  4.  8,  9.     J  117 

shalt  rule  over  him.     And  Cain  told  Abel  his  brother,  g 
And  it  came  to  pass,  when  they  were  in  the  field,  that 
Cain  rose  up  against  Abel  his  brother,  and  slew  him.    And  9 

the  Lord  said  unto  Cain,  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother? 

t 

In  the  R.V.  marg.  'unto  thee  shall  be  its  desire,  but  thou 
shouldest  rule  over  it,'  the  'its'  and  '  it '  refer  to  sin,  which  is 
personified  as  eager  to  master  Cain,  who,  however,  ought  to 
be  able  to  master  it. 

We  have  commented  on  the  R.  V.  because  it  is  perhaps  as  good 
as  any  other  of  the  many  futile  attempts  to  make  sense  of  the 
present  Hebrew  text. 

The  LXX  has  for  the  first  part  of  the  verse,  '  If  thou  didst 
rightly  offer,  but  didst  not  rightly  divide,  thou  didst  sin,  hold  thy 
peace.'  This  would  point  to  some  failure  in  the  details  of  ritual, 
and  would  mean,  '  Thou  hast  no  right  to  be  angry  because  thine 
offering  was  not  accepted;  thou  didst  not  observe  the  proper  rules  ; 
do  not  complain.'  The  LXX  rendering  implies  a  text  differing 
only  in  a  few  letters  from  that  in  our  Hebrew  manuscripts. 

8.  told.  As  the  marg.,  'said  unto,'  points  out,  this  is  another 
attempt  to  give  an  intelligible  translation  of  words  which  do  not 
make  sense  in  the  original.  The  Hebrew  can  only  mean,  '  Cain 
said  unto  Abel  his  brother,'  and  what  he  said  is  not  given.  The 
LXX,  the  Vulgate,  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch,  and  the  Syriac 
version  insert  here  'let  us  go  into  the  field,'  and  this  may  be  the 
original,  and  have  been  accidentally  omitted.  It  would  account 
for  the  clause  'when  they  were  in  the  field,'  and  is  accepted  by 
many  scholars.  It  is  also  possible  that  a  clause  was  omitted  here 
as  unedifying,  see  on  verse  6.  But  the  scene  of  3-7  would  be 
a  sanctuary,  where  even  Cain  would  not  venture  to  attack  Abel, 
and  the  invitation  to  go  '  into  the  field '  would  be  intended  to  lure 
the  victim  to  a  less  sacred  spot1.  A  slight  alteration  would  give 
us  a  text  which  would  be  roughly  equivalent  to  '  Cain  picked 
a  quarrel2.' 

the  field:  the  open  country,  as  distinguished  from  the 
sanctuary  (see  above),  or  perhaps  from  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  the  home  of  Adam  and  his  family. 

rose  up :  a  common  phrase 3  for  preparing  to  attack,  almost 
equals  'set  upon.' 

9.  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother?  As  in  iii.  gff.,  Yahweh 
seeks  to  elicit  a  confession  ;  Cain  does  not  prevaricate,  or  make 
excuses,  but  lies  straight  out. 

1  Holzinger.  2  Gunkel. 

3  Judges  viii.  21 ,  ix.  43;  2  Kings  iii.  24,  &c. 


n8  GENESIS  4.   10-14.     J 

And  he  said,  I  know  not :  am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ? 
io  And  he  said,  What  hast  thou  done  ?  the  voice  of  thy 

11  brother's  blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the  ground.  And 
now  cursed  art  thou  from  the  ground,  which  hath  opened, 
her  mouth  to  receive  thy  brother's  blood  from  thy  hand  ; 

12  when  thou  tillest  the  ground,  it  shall  net  henceforth 
yield  unto  thee  her  strength ;  a  fugitive  and  a  wanderer 

13  shalt  thou  be  in  the  earth.  And  Cain  said  unto  the 
Lord,    My    punishment   is   greater    than    I   can   bear. 

14  Behold,  thou  hast  driven  me  out  this  day  from  the  face 
of  the  ground  5  and  from  thy  face  shall  I  be  hid ;  and 

my  "brother's  keeper  :  perhaps  a  grim  pleasantry  ;  Abel  was 
the  '  keeper '  of  sheep  *. 

10.  thy  brother's  blood  crieth.  Cf.  Job  xvi.  18 ;  Isa.  xxvi.  21  ; 
Heb.  xii.  24,  '  the  blood  of  sprinkling  that  speaketh  better  than 
that  of  Abel.' 

11.  from  the  ground:  ambiguous  ;  perhaps  meant  to  suggest 
both  '  so  as  to  be  driven  away  from  the  ground '  and  '  cursed  with 
a  curse  which  works  from  the  ground.'  <  Ground 2 '  is  the  cultivated 
land  which  Cain  had  tilled. 

12.  it  shall  not . . .  yield . . .  her  strength.  An  enhancement  of 
the  curse  on  Adam,  whereby  the  ground  was  only  to  yield  a  poor 
return  to  hard  toil.  Now  for  Cain  it  is  to  be  absolutely  barren  ;  it 
is  no  use  his  tilling  it  any  more,  it  will  yield  him  nothing.  If  he 
remains  in  the  hitherto  cultivated  district  he  will  starve,  hence  h« 
must  wander  forth. 

a  fugitive  and  a  wanderer:    practically  a  compound  ex- 
pression, like  '  waste  and  void '  in  i.  2  (which  see). 

13.  My  punishment  is  greater  than  I  can  hear.  This  trans- 
lation is  required  by  the  next  verse,  which  dwells  upon  the 
severity  of  the  punishment.  The  R.V.  marg.  offers  us  two  alter- 
natives, '  Mine  iniquity  is  greater  than  I  can  bear,'  i.  e.  the  sense 
of  sin  and  remorse  was  an  intolerable  burden ;  and  '  Mine  iniquity 
is  greater  than  can  be  forgiven.' 

14.  from  thy  face  shall  I  he  hid :  better  perhaps,  '  I  shall  hide 
myself,'  or  'I  must  hide  myself.'  In  the  primitive  tradition 
Yahweh  is  specially  the  ruler  of  the  cultivated  district,  i.e. 
Canaan,  and  to  leave  Canaan  for  the  surrounding  wilderness 
was  to  lose  the  Divine  protection  in  its  ordinary  manifestation. 


So  Gunkel.  2  Adamah. 


GENESIS  4.  15.     J  119 

I  shall  be  a  fugitive  and  a  wanderer  in  the  earth  ;  and  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  whosoever  findeth  me  shall  slay 
me.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Therefore  whosoever  : 
slayeth  Cain,  vengeance  shall  be  taken  on  him  sevenfold. 
And  the  Lord  appointed  a  sign  for  Cain,  lest  any  finding 
him  should  smite  him. 

So  when  David's  enemies  drove  him  from  Canaan  they  bade  him 
'Serve  other  gods1.'  This  is  one  of  the  many  indications  that 
our  '  Primitive  Document '  was  compiled  after  the  settlement  in 
Canaan.  In  still  earlier  times  Yahweh  was  specially  connected 
with  Sinai. 

it  shall  come  to  pass.     See  on  verse  3. 

whosoever  findeth  me.  This  seems  inconsistent  with  the 
previous  sections  ;  Abel  is  dead  ;  besides  him  we  have  only  been 
told  of  Adam  and  Eve ;  Cain  is  going  away  from  them.  Whom 
could  he  meet  ?  Some  have  suggested  wild  beasts  ;  others  children 
who  were  born  to  Adam  while  Cain  was  growing  up  ;  and  others 
men  of  another  race  than  that  of  Adam.  None  of  these  answers 
are  probable,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  maintained  that 
this  clause  shows  that  the  section  on  Cain  and  Abel  was  not 
originally  part  of  the  story  of  the  first  family.  The  apparent 
inconsistency  may  be  due  to  an  oversight  on  the  part  of  the 
narrator. 

shall  slay  me.  The  sentence  suggests  to  us  a  whole  world 
thirsting  for  vengeance  on  the  first  murderer  ;  but  the  author  was 
thinking  of  the  wild  life  of  the  desert,  where  the  wandering 
stranger  who  had  not  secured  the  hospitality  and  protection  of  some 
tribesman  was  the  lawful  prey  of  any  one  who  met  him. 

15.  vengeance  shall  he  taken  on  him  sevenfold.  Seven  of 
the  murderer's  kindred,  including,  as  a  rule,  the  murderer  himself, 
would  be  put  to  death.  Cf.  the  execution  of  seven  of  Saul's 
family  on  account  of  his  massacre  of  the  Gibeonites,  2  Sam.  xxi.  8. 
This  verse  is  again  referred  to  in  verse  24. 

a  sign.  Some  mark  on  Cain's  body  to  indicate  that  he  was 
under  Divine  protection,  not  to  brand  him  as  a  murderer. 
Possibly  the  author  had  in  mind  some  tribal  mark  of  the  Kenites2, 
like  the  Israelite  circumcision.  It  should  be  noted  that  the 
narrative  shows  no  trace  of  the  idea  that  murder  must  necessarily 
be  punished  by  death.  Here,  as  in  the  case  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
Yahweh  punishes,  but  yet  shows  a  measure  of  mercy  in  relieving 
the  culprits  from  the  extreme  consequences  of  their  punishment. 
He  provides  Adam  and  Eve  with  clothes,  and  protects  Cain  from 

1  1  Sam.  xxvi.  19.  2  Cf.  above,  p.  1 14- 


i2o  GENESIS  4.  16,  17.     J 

16  And  Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
and  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Nod,  on  the  east  of  Eden. 

1 7  And  Cain  knew  his  wife ;  and  she  conceived,  and  bare 
Enoch :  and  he  builded  a  city,  and  called  the  name  of 

the  lawless  violence  of  the  wilderness  into  which  he  is  driven. 
The  blood-revenge — the  sevenfold  vengeance— sanctioned  by  this 
story  is  rather  a  privilege  of  the  kinsmen  of  the  murdered  man 
than  a  necessity  of  righteous  government.  Note  also  that  though 
Yahweh's  presence  is  specially  in  the  cultivated  district,  yet  He 
can  protect  Cain  in  the  wilderness. 

16.  from  the  presence  of  the  LORD  :  i.  e.  from  the  cultivated 
district;  cf.  above. 

Nod,  taken  as  a  Hebrew  word,  would  mean  'wandering,' 
and  might  be  not  a  real  name,  but  a  mere  title  of  the  land  of 
wandering  in  which  the  wanderer  wandered.  If  so,  the  author 
may  have  had  no  actual  country  in  his  mind,  and  it  would  be 
useless  to  try  to  identify  it. 

iv.  17-24.     Genealogy  of  the  Cainites  (J). 

iv.  16-22.  Cain,  Enoch,  Irad,  Mehujael.  Methushael,  Lamech, 
Jabal,  and  his  brothers  Jubal  and  Tubal-cain,  and  his  sister 
Naamah. 

The  beginnings  of  civilization,  of  cities,  of  polygamy,  of  the  life 
of  herdsmen,  of  music,  and  of  working  with  metal  tools. 

iv.  23,  24.     Lamech's  sword-song. 

(a)  Source.  Though  this  section  belongs  to  the  Primitive 
Document  it  may  not  have  been  originally  part  of  the  story  of 
Cain  and  Abel.  It  seems  hardly  consistent  for  the  'fugitive  and 
wanderer '  to  build  a  city.  Perhaps  these  verses  were  the  original 
continuation  of  the  story  of  Eden  and  the  Fall ;  and  the  genealogy 
of  Noah  and  of  the  human  race  was  traced  through  Cain ;  and 
there  was  no  mention  of  Seth1.  In  ch.  v.  30  Lamech  is  the  father 
of  Noah. 

(b)  Relation  to  chapter  v.  This  section  and  chapter  v  (P)  are 
two  editions  of  the  same  genealogy.  It  will  be  convenient  to 
consider  their  relation  and  their  corresponding  features,  and  some 
points  as  to  the  various  names,  in  dealing  with  chapter  v,  the 
longer  and  later  version. 

1*7.  his  wife.     Where  Cain  got  his  wife  from,  and  who  were 
the  people  by  whom  he  expected  to  be  killed,  are  two  similar 
problems.     The  usual  explanation  of  the  former  difficulty  is  that 
he  married  his  sister  ;  but  see  on  verse  14. 
Enoch.     See  on  ch.  v.  18. 

1  Cf.  p.  124  (a),  and  p.  125  (d). 


GENESIS  4.  18-20.     J  121 

the  city,  after  the  name  of  his  son,  Enoch.     And  unto  18 
Enoch  was  born  Irad :  and  Irad  begat  Mehujael :  and 
Mehujael   begat    Methushael :    and    Methushael    begat 
Lamech.     And  Lamech  took  unto  him  two  wives  :  the  19 
name  of  the  one  was  Adah,  and  the  name  of  the  other 
Zillah.     And  Adah  bare  Jabal :  he  was  the  father  of  such  20 

he  builded  a  city:  the  first  city,  and  thus  made  a  great 
advance  in  civilization.  '  CitjV  however,  does  not  mean  a  large 
town,  but  any  walled  town.  Our  author  is  silent  as  to  the 
position  of  this  city,  and  we  have  no  means  of  identifying  it. 
There  are  many  places  with  names  more  or  less  like  Enoch. 

18.  Irad.     See  v.  15,  Jared. 
Mehujael.     See  v.  12,  Mahalalel. 

Methushael.  See  v.  21,  Methuselah  ;  the  LXX  has  here 
also  Methousala. 

Lamech .     See  v.  25. 

19.  two  wives.  Another  advance  in  civilization,  according  to 
the  ideas  of  the  ancient  Israelites.  The  husbands  hitherto  men- 
tioned, Adam  and  Cain,  had,  as  far  as  we  are  told,  only  one  wife 
each  ;  and  the  author  means  that  Lamech  was  the  first  to  marry 
more  than  one.  Polygamy  was  recognized  as  legitimate,  and 
legislated  for  in  the  Pentateuch x  and  even  in  post-Christian 
Jewish  writings.  It  was  further  commended  by  the  example  of 
the  patriarchs.  It  was  a  specially  common  practice  to  take  two 
wives,  e.  g.  Abraham,  Jacob,  and  Elkanah.  See,  however,  on 
ii.  24. 

Adah  .  .  .  Zillah.  Adah  is  variously  explained  as  '  Light,' 
'Adornment,'  and  even  'Darkness'  ;  according  to  an  early  Chris- 
tian scholar 2  Adah  was  the  name  of  a  Babylonian  goddess 
corresponding  to  Hera  or  Juno.  Zillah  is  explained  as  '  Shadow '  ; 
but  it  is  possible  that  neither  name  is  a  Hebrew  word.  Adah  also 
occurs  as  the  name  of  one  of  Esau's  Hittitc  wives 3,  the  ancestress 
of  certain  Edomite  tribes. 

20-22.  Jabal  .  .  .  Jubal  .  .  .  Tubal-cain.  The  '-cain'  in  the 
last  of  these  three  is  not  perhaps  properly  part  of  the  name,  and 
without  it  the  trio  form  a  striking  assonance,  or — if  a  colloquial 
term  may  be  excused — a  jingle.  Such  groups  of  assonant  names 
for  brothers  were  not  uncommon,  e.g.  the  celebrated  Mohammedan 
martyr  brothers,  Hasan  and  Hussain.     Similarly  the  Arabs  trans- 

1  Deut.  xxi.  15  ff.,  which  specially  refers  to  the  case  of  two 
wives. 

2  Hesychius,  third  and  fourth  centuries.  3  Gen.  xxxvi.  2. 


122  GENESIS  1.  2i,  22.     J 

2i  as  dwell  in  tents  and  have  cattle.  And  his  brother's 
name  was  jubal :  he  was  the  father  of  all  such  as  handle 

22  the  harp  and  pipe.  And  Zillah,  she  also  bare  Tubal- 
cain,  the  forger  of  every  cutting  instrument  of  brass  and 

form  Abel  and  Cain  into  Habil  and  Kabil1.  Jabal  (LXX,  Jobel) 
and  Jubal  are  both  modifications  of  the  Hebrew  Yobel,  'ram/  and 
are  closely  connected  with  Abel.  Jabal  had  to  do  with  rams,  as 
a  herdsman  2  living  in  tents  ;  Jubal,  as  a  musician,  the  ram's  horn 
being  an  important  musical  instrument  with  the  ancient  Israelites. 
Cf.  also  on  v. 

20.  father  of  such  ?„s  dwell  in  tents,  &c. :  following  a  similar 
occupation  to  Abel,  but  at  a  more  advanced  stage.  We  are  not 
told  that  Abel  or  his  parents  had  any  tent  or  house,  and  Jabal's 
cattle  would  include  oxen  as  well  as  sheep.  It  is  a  little 
difficult  to  understand  how  the  fashion  of  keeping  cattle  and 
living  in  tents  should  only  come  into  existence  after  the  institu- 
tion of  cities  in  verse  17.  'Father  of  =  founder  of  the  custom 
or  art. 

21.  his  brother's  name.  When  the  founders  of  two  arts  are 
said  to  be  'brothers,'  it  means  that  these  arts  arose  in  the  same 
period  and  under  the  same  circumstances  ;  here,  that  music  had 
its  origin  amongst  the  nomads. 

harp  :  Heb.  kinndr,  hence  the  Greek  kttiura,  a  stringed  instru- 
ment, of  which  the  shape  and  number  of  strings  varied. 

pipe:  A.V.  'organ,'  Heb.  'ugabh.  The  nature  of  this  instru- 
ment is  uncertain.  According  to  the  LXX  it  was  a  stringed 
instrument;  but  it  was  more  probably  a  wind  instrument,  flute, 
or  mouth-organ,  or  bagpipe,  according  to  various  authorities. 
Here  it  might  very  well  be  a  general  term  for  wind  instruments. 
Numerous  pictures  of  wind  and  stringed  instruments  are  shown 
on  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  monuments. 

22.  Tuhal-cain.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  LXX  read  *  cain  ' 
at  all.  If  read,  we  should  probably  not  take  it  as  part  of  the  name, 
but  translate  'Tubal,  a  smith.' 

the  forger  of  every  cutting  instrument:  R.V.  marg.  'an 
instructor  of  every  artificer.'  Neither  translation  fairly  represents 
the  Hebrew,  which  here  again  is  unintelligible.  Doubtless  the 
original  author  wrote,  '  the  father  of  all  who  do  smith's  work,'  &c, 
and  careless  scribes  copied  it  incorrectly. 

"brass :  R.  V.  marg.  '  copper.'  Brass,  copper  alloyed  with 
zinc,  was  unknown  to  the  ancients  ;   but  they  had  copper,  and 

1  Baethgen,  Beitrdge,  &c,  149. 

2  '  Cattle,'  Heb.  miqneh,  includes  both  sheep  and  oxen. 


GENESIS  4.  23.     J  123 

iron:  and  the  sister  of  Tubal-cain  was  Naamah.     And  23 
Lamech  said  unto  his  wives  : 

Adah  and  Zillah,  hear  my  voice ; 

Ye  wives  of  Lamech,  hearken  unto  my  speech  : 

For  I  have  slain  a  man  for  wounding  me, 

And  a  young  man  for  bruising  me : 

used  bronze,  copper  with  various  alloys.     Wandering  clans  or 
families  of  smiths  are  still  found  amongst  the  nomad  Arabs. 

Naamah:  'pleasant/  also  found  as  the  name  of  Rehoboam's 
mother,  and  of  a  city  in  Judah  ;  almost  the  same  as  Naomi.  In 
Phoenician  the  name  occurs  for  the  goddess  Astarte  \  The  con- 
nexion of  the  smith  Tubal  with  the  pleasant  or  beautiful  Naamah 
has  been  compared  with  that  between  Vulcan  and  Venus. 

23,  24.  These  verses  are  a  short  poem,  much  older  than  the 
genealogy  in  which  they  stand.  They  are,  no  doubt,  one  of  the 
oldest  portions  of  the  material  out  of  which  the  Primitive  Document 
was  compiled,  and  indeed  of  extant  Hebrew  literature.  Note 
the  '  parallelism '  which  is  the  characteristic  form  of  Hebrew 
poetry.  There  are  six  short  lines,  the  second  repeats  in  a  slightly 
different  form  the  sense  of  the  first ;  the  fourth  that  of  the  third  ; 
and  the  sixth  expresses  an  idea  corresponding  to  that  of  the 
fifth. 

23.  Por  I  have  slain  a  man  for  wounding-  me,  And  a  young 
man  for  bruising  me.  According  to  the  laws  of  Hebrew 
parallelism  '  man '  and  '  young  man  '  probably  both  refer  to  the 
same  person,  and  the  'wounding'  and  'bruising'  to  the  same 
act ;  just  as,  in  the  previous  couplet,  '  Adah  and  Zillah '  =  '  Ye 
wives  of  Lamech,'  and  'hear'  =  'hearken.'  This  R.V.  text 
would  refer  to  a  single  experience  of  Lamech  ;  the  mar^g.  '  I  will 
slay,'  or  better  '  I  slay,'  'I  am  in  the  habit  of  slaying,'  is^ite  as 
probable.  The  verse  would  then  mean,  'If  any  one  strikes. me, 
I  slay  him.'  The  other  marginal  rendering  (  =  A.  V.)  :—  \^ 
'  I  have  slain  a  man  to  my  wounding, 
And  a  young  man  to  my  hurt,'  ^ 

would  mean  that  Lamech  felt  he  had  committed  an  act  \\-v 
would  cause  him  suffering.  This  does  not  suit  the  context, 
can  only  have  been  retained  in  the  marg.  in  deference  to  , 
authority  of  the  A.  V.  The  poem  expresses  the  proud  confidei, 
of  the  Bedouin  chief  that  he  will  promptly  and  thoroughly  aver- 
any  wrong  done  to  him.  The  connexion  here  suggests  that  t 
occasion  of  the  song  was  the  discovery  of  the  art  of  working 

1  Baethgen,  Beitrdge,  &c,  150. 


124  GENESIS  4.  24-26.     J 

34  If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  sevenfold, 

Truly  Lamech  seventy  and  sevenfold. 

25  And  Adam  knew  his  wife  again ;  and  she  bare  a  son, 
and  called  his  name  Seth :  For,  said  she,  God  hath 
appointed  me  another  seed  instead  of  Abel;  for  Cain 

26  slew  him.  And  to  Seth,  to  him  also  there  was  born 
a  son ;  and  he  called  his  name  Enosh :  then  began  men 
to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

metals  by  Tubal-cain.  It  is  supposed  that  this  art  was  used  to 
forge  metal  weapons,  and  Lamech  was  confident  because  he  was 
sure  that  he  would  be  better  armed  than  any  of  his  neighbours  ; 
but  probably  the  song  had  originally  nothing  to  do  with  Tubal- 
cain.  According  to  a  grotesque  Jewish  legend  the  {  man '  slain 
was  Cain,  and  the  'young  man'  Tubal-cain.. 

24.  Cf.  verse  15. 

iv.  25,  26.     Genealogy  of  the  Sethites  (J). 

Adam,  Seth,  Enosh.    The  beginning  of  the  worship  of  Yahweh. 

(a)  Source.  These  verses  were  included  in  the  Primitive 
Document,  but  they  may  have  been  originally  independent  of  the 
previous  sections  ;  see  below. 

25.  Adam.  The  analogy  of  iv.  1  would  lead  us  to  expect  'the 
man,'  ha- Adam;  perhaps  this  was  the  original  reading. 

Seth  .< .  .  hath  appointed.     In  Hebrew,  Sheth  .  .  .  shath. 

God.  The  various  sections  of  ii.  4b — iv.  24  use  Yahweh  for 
the  Divine  name  ;  but  according  to  these  verses  Yahweh  was  not 
known  till  the  time  of  Enosh,  hence  Eve  uses  'God'  instead. 
These  differences  of  usage  are  an  indication  that  the  verses  may 
not  have  been  originally  connected  with  the  rest  of  these 
chapters. 

26.  lie  called  his  name.  In  the  Primitive  Document  the  name 
,s  usually  given  by  the  mother;  cf.  verse  1.  The  exception  here 
b  no  doubt  due  to  the  fact  that  no  mother  is  mentioned. 

Enosh :  properly  a  common  noun  meaning  'man,'  almost 
insbnymous  with  aciam.  The  name  probably  comes  from  a  tra- 
theon  which  spoke  of  the  first  man  as  Enosh  and  not  Adam.  The 
orhor of  these  versions  has  preserved  both  names  by  uniting  them 
ara  genealogy — a  familiar  method  of  gathering  up  miscellaneous 

•gments  of  tradition  that  none  might  be  lost, 
zi*    then  began  men  to  call  \ipon  the  name  of  the  LORD.    The 
liebrew  text  translated  b}'  the  LXX  and  Vulgate  had  '  He,'  i.  e. 
Enosh,   'began  to  call  on  the  name  of  Yahweh/  and  this  reading 
is  accepted  by  many  scholars.     It  would  mean  that  Enosh  insti- 


GENESIS  5.  i.     P 


125 


[P]  This  is  the  book  of  the  generations  of  Adam.    In  the 

1  tuted  the  worship  of  Yahweh.  According  to  Exod.  iii.  14,  vi.  2 
the  name  Yahweh  was  first  made  known  to  Israel  by  Moses  ; 
cf.  p.  22. 

v.  The  Priestly  Genealogy  of  the  Human  Race  from  Adam 
to  Noah. 

For  purposes  of  comparison  the  analysis  is  supplemented  by 
that  of  the  other  two  genealogies  in  parallel  columns.  The  numbers 
call  attention  to  the  correspondences  in  cases  where  the  order  is 
different. 

iv.  1,  17-24.  iv.  25,  26.  v. 


Adam 

Adam 

Adam 

Seth 

Seth 

Enosh 

Enosh 

Cain, 

Kenan 

(i")  Enofli 

(2)  Mahalalel 

Irad 

Jared 

(a)  Mehujael 

(1)  Enoch 

Methushael 

Methuselah 

Lamech 

Lamech 

| 

Noah 
1 

1         1 

bal      Jubal     Tubal-cain. 

Shem      Ham    Japheth 

v.  24.     Enoch  is  translated. 

v.  29.  Etymology  of  the  name  Noah. 

(a)  Source.  Verse  29  (which  see)  is  from  J,  the  rest  of  the 
chapter  is  from  the  Priestly  Document  (P).    Note  the  Divine  name, 

God  (Elohim) ;  the  recurring  formula  *,  ' lived years,  and 

begat :  and  lived  after  he  begat years,  and 

begat  sons  and  daughters  :  and  all  the  days  of were years, 

and  he  died ' ;  and  the  heading,  *  The  book  of  the  generations.' 
This  chapter  is  the  continuation  of  i.  1 — ii.  4%  so  that  the  Priestly 
Document  contained  no  account  of  the  Garden  of  Eden,  or  of  the 
Fall,  or  of  Cain  and  Abel.  Note  also  the  systematic  chronology 
which  is  a  characteristic  of  this  document. 

(b)  Relation  to  the  other  Genealogies.  The  table  given  in  the 
analysis  shows  that  ch.  v  is  another  version  of  the  genealogies 
in  iv.  The  two  chapters  may  either  represent  two  different 
traditions  or  two  theories  based  on  the  same  tradition, 

(c)  Significance    of  the    Genealogies.      The    presence    of   these 


1  Cf.  pp.  37,  67. 


126  GENESIS  5.  i.     P 

day  that  God  created  man,  in  the  likeness  of  God  made 

genealogies  in  the  various  documents  was  due,  first  of  all,  to  the 
desire  to  preserve  ancient  and  popular  traditions  hallowed  by 
many  sacred  associations.  Perhaps  some  of  the  genealogies  were 
formed  as  aids  to  memory,  as  threads  on  which  to  hang  a  number 
of  names  of  ancient  worthies  and  stories  concerning  them,  so  that 
they  might  be  held  together  and  the  more  easily  remembered. 
No  doubt,  too,  the  interest  which  the  Israelites  felt  in  their  own 
genealogies  moved  them  also  to  complete  the  chain  of  ancestors 
which  connected  them  with  the  very  beginnings  of  history.  But 
in  the  Priestly  Document  the  genealogies  provide  a  scheme  of 
chronology  from  the  Creation  to  the  Conquest  of  Canaan  ;  and 
the  succeeding  books  cany  on  the  scheme  till  it  is  merged  in  the 
chronology  of  the  great  empires  of  the  East. 

(d)  The  Chronology  of  the  Priestly  Document.  This  chapter  gives, 
amongst  other  statistics,  the  intervals  between  the  birth  of  each 
patriarch  and  the  birth  of  his  eldest  son.  These  intervals  are 
continuous,  and  when  added  together  give  the  interval  between 
the  Creation  and  the  birth  of  Noah.  Then  the  age  of  Noah  at  the 
time  of  the  Flood  is  given,  and  thus  we  get  the  interval  between 
the  Creation  and  the  Flood.  The  rest  of  the  Pentateuch  and  the 
Book  of  Joshua  furnish  similar  statistics,  which  determine  the  date 
of  the  death  of  Joshua.  From  this  point  we  have  the  lengths 
of  the  rule  of  the  judges,  and  of  the  intervals  between  them ; 
then  the  lengths  of  the  rule  of  Eli  and  Samuel,  and  of  the  reigns 
of  the  kings.  In  2  Kings  xxv.  27  this  series  of  statistics  is 
connected  with  the  dates  of  the  kings  of  Babylon,  and  thus  fixes 
the  time-relations  of  the  events  of  Israelite  history  with  the 
ascertained  chronology  of  general  history.  Unfortunately  there 
are  gaps,  and  inconsistencies,  and  obvious  errors  in  these  sets 
of  figures,  partly  due  to  the  mistakes  of  copyists  and  editors. 
Hence  the  popular  chronology  of  the  O.  T.,  which  was  based  upon 
these  data,  is  not  trustworthy  \. 

This  chapter  itself  shows  how  uncertain  are  our  data,  and  how 
little  they  help  us  to  fix  a  definite  chronology.  We  have  men- 
tioned in  the  Introduction2  that  there  are  three  main  authorities 
f  jr  our  text ;  the  figures  given  by  them  differ  widely,  so  that  the 
interval  from  the  Creation  to  the  Flood  is  1656  years  in  the 
Massoretic  MSS..  1307  37ears  in  the  Samaritan  MSS.,  and  2242years 
in  the  LXX.  The  following  table  will  show  that  the  lengths 
of  the  lives  are  usually  the  same  in  all  three ;  that  the  exceptions 
to  this  rule  lead  to  the  difference  between  1656  of  the  Massorets 

1  Compare  the  article  'Chronology  '  in  Dr.  Hastings'  Dictionary 
of  the  Bible.  -g 

2  n.  41.  -oti- 


GENESIS  5.  2.     P  127 

he  him ;  male  and  female  created  he  them ;  and  blessed  2 

and  the  1307  of  the  Samaritans  ;  but  that  the  period  from  the  birth 
of  a  patriarch  to  that  of  his  eldest  son  is  usually  100  years  less  in 
the  Massoretic  MSS.  than  in  the  LXX,  while  the  rest  of  the  life  is 
100  years  more,  so  that  the  length  of  the  whole  life  remains  the 
same. 


Hebrew 

Hebrew 

Massoretic 

Samaritan 

lx: 

Adam 

MSS. 

MSS. 

ABC 

ABC 

A 

B      C 

130  800  930 

130  800  930 

230 

700  930 

Seth 

105  807  912 

105  807  912 

205 

707  912 

Enos 

90  815  905 

90  815  905 

190 

715  9°5 

Cainan 

70  840  910 

70  840  910 

170 

740  910 

Mahalalel 

65  830  895 

65  830  895 

165 

73o  895 

Jared 

162  800  962 

62  785  847 

162 

800  962 

Enoch 

65  300  365 

65  300  365 

165 

200  365 

Methuselah 

187  782  969 

67  653  720 

167 

802  969 

Lamech 

182  595  777 

53  600  653 

188 

565  753 

Noah 

50Q          95o 

500          950 

500 

95o 

Further  interval 

to  the  Flood 

100. 

100 

IOO 

1656 

1307 

2242 

A.  Age  of  patriarch  at  birth  of  first-born. 

B.  Length  of  rest  of  patriarch's  life. 

C.  Length  of  whole  life. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  in  the  Massoretic  and  Samaritan  MSS. 
Methuselah  dies  in  .the  year  of  the  Flood  ;  in  the  Samaritan  MSS. 
Jared  and  Lamech  also  die  in  the  year  of  the  Flood  ;  and  that 
in  the  LXX  Methuselah  survives  the  Flood  by  four  years.  Cf. 
below. 

(e)  Original  Source  of  the  Names  and  Statistics.  We  have  seen 
that  our  chief  authorities  differ  in  their  statistics,  and  also  differ 
systematically,  so  that  the  variations  cannot  be  altogether  due  to 
mistakes  in  copying.  Each  authority  had  its  own  theory  of  the 
chronology,  possibly  connected  with  ideas  as  to  the  length  of 
the  existence  of  the  world,  and  the  time  of  the  final  catastrophe — 

ibject  much  dealt  with  in  the  various  apocalypses  current  when 

"Mfferent  texts  were  formed.     It  has'->>een   pointed  out  that 


i28  GENESIS  K  2.     P 

them,  and  called  their  name  Adam,  in  the  day  when  they 

according  to  the  Hebrew  MSS.  the  Exodus  took  place  2666  years 
after  the  Creation.  As  2666  is  two-thirds  of  4000  this  indicates 
a  belief  that  the  world  would  last  4000  years,  and  the  statistics 
have  no  doubt  been  influenced  by  this  view.  Again,  in  the 
Samaritan  text  each  patriarch  lives  fewer  years  than  his  predecessor 
— with  three  exceptions,  two  of  which,  Enoch  and  Noah,  are 
special  cases.  This  gradual  diminution  will  be  due  to  a  theory 
that  human  vitality  was  at  a  maximum  at  the  Creation.  Further, 
the  deaths  of  certain  patriarchs  in  the  year  of  the  Flood  is 
evidently  due  to  careful  calculation.  These  considerations,  how- 
ever, only  partially  account  for  the  divergences,  which  must  for 
the  most  part  be  left  without  explanation.  We  cannot  be  certain 
which  authority  agrees  most  closely  with  the  figures  given  in  the 
original  copy  of  the  Priestly  Document,  possibly — according  to 
the  present  tendency  of  opinion — the  Samaritan  MSS.  The  fact 
that  copyists  and  translators  did  not  hesitate  to  modify  these 
statistics  according  to  their  view  of  history  shows  that  they 
regarded  them  as  expressing  a  theory  rather  than  as  vouched 
for  by  absolute  authority1. 

No  doubt,  however,  both  names  and  figures  were  originally 
derived  from  tradition.  The  presence  of  most  of  the  names  in 
the  Primitive  Document2  partly  proves  this.  Moreover,  Berosus3 
begins  his  account  of  the  Babylonian  dynasties  with  a  list  of  ten 
kings,  Alorus,  Alaparus,  Amelon,  Ammenon,  Mcgalarus,  Daomis, 
Enedorachus,  Amempsinus,  Otiartes,  and  Xisuthrus.  He  assigns 
to  each  of  them  an  enormously  long  reign,  so  that  the  ten  reigns 
together  extend  over  a  period  of  432,000  years.  In  spite  of  the 
differences  in  the  names  many  scholars  hold  that  the  ten  Babylonian 
kings  ending  with  Xisuthrus,  the  hero  of  the  Deluge,  are  the 
origin  of  the  ten  patriarchs  ending  with  Noah  3C 

(/)  The  Longevity  of  the  Patriarchs.  The  long  lives  of  the 
patriarchs  have  often  been  felt  to  be  a  stumbling-block,  which 
apologists  have  sought  to  remove  by  ingenious  but  futile  theories. 
For  instance,  the  names,  Adam,  &c,  &c.,  have  been  supposed  to 
represent  tribes  or  dynasties,  and  not  individuals ;  '  year'  has  been 
held  to  mean  'month,'  &c,  &c.  These  theories  are  worthless; 
the  idea  that  men  in  primitive  times  lived  very  long  lives  is 
common  to  the  traditions  of  many  races,  and  was  clearly  held  by 
the  author  of  the  Priestly  Document.  It  is  also  clear  that  these 
figures  have  no  historical  value  except  as  exemplifying  Semitic 
theories  of  chronolog}'. 

1.  generations.     Cf.  ii.  4. 


1  So  Gunkel.  2  p.  22,  8  p.  68. 

4  Cf.  commentary. 


GENESIS  5.  ?,-ro.     P  129 

were  created.     And  Adam  lived  an  hundred  and  thirty  3 
years,  and  begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image; 
and  called  his  name  Seth :  and  the  days  of  Adam  after  4 
he  begat  Seth  were  eight  hundred  years :  and  he  begat 
sons  and  daughters.     And  all  the  days  that  Adam  lived  5 
were  nine  hundred  and  thirty  years  :  and  he  died. 

And  Seth  lived  an  hundred  and  five  years,  and  begat  6 
Enosh  :  and  Seth  lived  after  he  begat  Enosh  eight  hun-  7 
dred  and  seven  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters : 
and  all  the  days  of  Seth  were  nine  hundred  and  twelve  8 
years  :  and  he  died. 

And  Enosh  lived  ninety  years,  and  begat  Kenan :  and  9,10 
Enosh  lived  after  he  begat  Kenan  eight  hundred  and 

1.  2.  in  the  likeness,  &c,  &c.    Cf.  i.  26  ff. 

2.  called  their  name  Adam.  The  R.V.  marg.,  '  Man,'  would  suit 
this  sentence  better  than  '  Adam ' ;  it  would  then  mean  that  God 
named  the  race  'man.'  The  reference  may  be  to  i.  26,  where 
God  says,  '  Let  us  make  man,'  and  thus  by  implication  names 
the  new  race  He  is  about  to  create.  The  Priestly  Document 
never  mentions  Adam's  wife,  but  simply  says  that  God  created 
man  in  two  sexes.  But  '  Man  '  in  this  phrase  does  not  suit  the 
succeeding  verses  in  which  'adam  is  the  name  of  the  first  man. 
Possibly  the  original  reading  was  '  called  his  name  Adam.' 

3.  in  his  own  likeness,  &c. :  passing  on  the  likeness  to  God, 
verse  1.  The  Priestly  Document  ignores  the  Fall,  and  Cain  and 
Abel. 

called  his  name  Seth.  The  father  gives  the  name,  as  usually 
in  this  document,  and  necessarily  so  here,  because  this  chapter 
entirely  ignores  wives. 

6.  Enosh.  See  on  iv.  26.  The  third  Babylonian  king  in  Berosus's 
list  is  Amelon,  which,  like  Enosh,  means  'man,'  so  that  there  is 
a  point  of  correspondence  between  the  third  king  and  the  third 
patriarch. 

9.  Kenan  :  Qenan,  a  strengthened  form  of  Cain,  Qayiti,  cf.  iv.  17, 
and  quite  a  different  name  from  that  of  the  son  of  Ham  and  of 
the  people  Kena'an.  The  word  occurs  in  Semitic  inscriptions, 
and  is  found  as  the  name  of  a  Sabaean  god.  This  fourth  patriarch, 
because  Qenan  means  'smith,'  has  been  connected1  with  the 
fourth  Babylonian  king  A mmenon=  'artisan.' 

1  Gunkel. 


130  GENESIS  5.  h-t9.     P 

n  fifteen  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters  :  and  all  the 
days  of  Enosh  were  nine  hundred  and  five  years :  and 
he  died. 

12  And  Kenan  lived  seventy  years,  and  begat  Mahalalel : 

13  and  Kenan  lived  after  he  begat  Mahalalel  eight  hundred 

14  and  forty  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters :  and  all 
the  days  of  Kenan  were  nine  hundred  and  ten  years : 
and  he  died. 

15  And  Mahalalel  lived  sixty  and  five  years,  and  begat 

1 6  Jared  :  and  Mahalalel  lived  after  he  begat  Jared  eight 
hundred  and  thirty  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters: 

17  and  all  the  days  of  Mahalalel  were  eight  hundred  ninety 
and  five  years  :  and  he  died. 

18  And  Jared  lived  an  hundred  sixty  and  two  years,  and 

19  begat   Enoch :   and  Jared  lived  after  he  begat  Enoch 

13.  Mahalalel.  Mahalale'el,  in  iv.  18,  Mehujael,  MekhnycCel, 
or  (according  to  another  reading)  Mekhiyya'el\  the  fifth  patriarch. 
As  Hebrew  names  Mahalalel  has  been  explained  as  '  Praise  of 
God  '  or  '  Praised  of  God,'  and  Mehujael  as  \  Smitten  of  God,1  &c.  ; 
but  both  may  be  corruptions  of  a  Babylonian  name  Amel-Aruru, 
<  Aruru's  Man,'  who  is  represented  by  Megalarus,  Berosus's  fifth 
Babylonian  king1.  Mahalalel  occurs  in  Neh.  xi.  4  as  a  clan  of 
Judah. 

15.  Jared:  Jered;  in  iv.  18  Irad,  lIrad;  the  sixth  patriarch. 
Jered  occurs  in  1  Chron.  iv.  18  as  the  name  of  a  clan  of  judah. 
According  to  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch  Jared  died  in  the  year 
of  the  Flood  ;  it  is  probably  implied  that  he  was  among  the 
sinners  who  were  drowned.  Possibly,  however,  this  date  for 
his  death  is  a  correction  of  statistics  which,  by  an  oversight, 
made  him  survive  the  Flood.  The  corrector  would  make  Jared 
die  in  the  year  of  the  Flood  in  order  to  alter  the  traditional 
figures  as  little  as  possible ;  and  may  have  thought  of  the 
patriarch  as  dying  a  natural  death  shortly  before  the  catastrophe. 

18.  Enoch.  Cf.  iv.  17  ;  the  seventh  patriarch.  This  name  in  its 
Hebrew  form  Khanoch  might  mean  '  dedication,'  and  might  be  con- 
nected with  the  building  of  the  first  city,  iv.  17  ;  but  probably  both 
Enoch  and  Berosus's  seventh  king  Enedorachus  are  corruptions  of 
some  Babylonian  name.     Numerous  legends  grew  up  in  connexion 

1  Ball,  Genesis,  SBOT. 


GENESIS  5.  20^25.     P  131 

JJJK'Kbftdred  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters :  and  20 
all-'tlvdays  of  Jared  were  nine  hundred  sixty  and  two 
years  :  and  he  died. 

^^MPftnoch  lived  sixty  and  five  years,  and  begat  21 
Methuselah  :  and  Enoch  walked  with  God  after  he  begat  22 
Methuselah  three  hundred  years,  and  begat  sons  and 
daughters  :  and  all  the  days  of  Enoch  were  three  hun-  23 
dred  sixty  and  five  years  :  and  Enoch  walked  with  God  :  24 
and  he  was  not ;  for  God  took  him. 

And  Methuselah  lived  an  hundred  eighty  and  seven  25 

with  Enoch,  and  a  whole  cycle  of  apocalyptic  literature— the 
Book  of  Enoch,  &c. — was  written  in  his  name.  A  sentence  from 
the  Book  of  Enoch  is  quoted  in  Jude  14  as  a  prophecy  of  '  Enoch, 
the  seventh  from  Adam.' 

22.  walked  with  God,  instead  of  the  simple  'lived1  used  of 
the  other  patriarchs,  indicates  a  special  piety  on  the  part  of 
Enoch.     The  LXX  has  <  pleased  God.' 

23.  three  hundred  sixty  and  five  years.  The  number  points 
to  some  connexion  between  Enoch  and  the  solar  year.  Perhaps 
the  Babylonian  original  of  Enoch  was  a  sun  god  or  solar  hero. 

24.  he  was  not;  for  God  took  him.  LXX,  \  he  was  not  found, 
for  God  translated  l  him/  and  so  Heb.  xi.  5  :  '  By  faith  Enoch  was 
translated  l  that  he  should  not  see  death  :  and  he  was  not  found, 
because  God  translated  him  :  for  before  his  translation  he  hath 
had  witness  borne  to  him  that  he  had  been  well-pleasing  unto 
God.'  This  interpretation  of  the  LXX  and  Hebrews  brings  out 
what  was  intended  by  this  verse.  Similarly  Yahweh  took  Elijah, 
and  he  was  not  found 2.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  had  the 
verse  simply  stated  that  Enoch  only  lived  365  years,  the  natural 
deduction  according  to  current  Jewish  theology  would  have  been 
that  he  was  an  exceptionally  wicked  man.  The  additional  details 
guard  against  this  misconception. 

25.  Methuselah.  Cf.  Methushael,  iv.  18  ;  the  eighth  patriarch. 
These  names,  together  with  Amempsinns,  Berosus's  eighth  Baby- 
lonian king,  are  explained  as  equivalent  to  the  Babylonian  name 
Amel-Sin,  '  Man  of  Sin,'  the  moon-god.  In  the  Massoretic  MSS. 
and  in  the  LXX  Methuselah  lives  969  years,  a  longer  life  than  that 
of  any  other  patriarch  ;  but  in  the  Samaritan  MSS.  he  only  lives 
720  years,  a  shorter  time  than  all  the  others  with  the  exception  of 

1  M(T(6t)K(v.  %  2  Kings  ii.  it  17. 

K   2 


132  GENESIS  5.  26+32.     PJP  >t   ^ 

it 

26  years,  and  begat  Lamech :  and  Methuselah  lived  after  he 
begat  Lamech  seven  hundred  eighty  and  two  years,'%id 

27  begat  sons  and  daughters  :  and  all  the  days  of  Methuselah 
were  nine  hundred  sixty  and  nine  years :  and  he  died, 

28  And  Lamech  lived  an  hundred  eighty  and  two  years, 

29  and  begat  a  son :  [J]  and  he  called  his  name  Noah,  say- 
ing, This  same  shall  comfort  us  for  our  work  and  for  the 
toil  of  our  hands,  because  of  the  ground  which  the  Lord 

30  hath  cursed.  [P]  And  Lamech  lived  after  he  begat  Noah 
five  hundred  ninety  and  five  years,  and  begat  sons  and 

31  daughters :  and  all  the  days  of  Lamech  were  seven  hun- 
dred seventy  and  seven  years :  and  he  died. 

32  And  Noah  was  five  hundred  years  old  :  and  Noah  be- 
gat Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth. 

Enoch  and  Lamech.  According  to  the  Massoretic  and  Samaritan 
MSS.  Methuselah  died  in  the  year  of  the  Flood,  so  that  the 
Massoretic  text  contains  the  dramatic  suggestion  that  the  man 
who  lived  longest  was  at  last  drowned  with  his  fellow  sinners  ; 
but  cf.  on  Jared,  verse  15.  According  to  the  LXX,  Methuselah 
survived  the  Flood,  which  is  clearly  an  oversight. 

Lamech.  Cf.  iv.  19.  The  ninth  patriarch.  No  probable  con- 
nexion between  this  name  and  Otiartes,  the  ninth  Babylonian 
king,  has  been  discovered.  In  the  Samaritan  MSS.  Lamech  dies 
in  the  year  of  the  Flood  ;  cf.  on  Jared,  verse  15. 

29.  Noah.  The  tenth  patriarch.  The  tenth  Babylonian  king, 
Xisuthrus,  is  also  the  hero  of  the  Flood.  No  satisfactory  account 
has  yet  been  given  of  the  origin  of  the  name. 

This  same  shall  comfort  tis,  Sec.  This  explanation  of  the 
name  is  from  the  Primitive  Document ;  it  contains  the  name 
Yahweh,  and  refers  back  to  the  story  of  the  Fall,  iii.  17-19.  '  To 
comfort '  is  nahem,  and  these  words  are  suggested  by  the  super- 
ficial resemblance  to  Noah  ;  they  are  not  a  real  etymology. 

because  of  the  ground  :  R.V.  marg.,  *  which  cotneth  from  the 
ground.1 

32.  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth.  This  genealogy,  like  that  in 
iv.  17-24,  ends  in  a  set  of  three  brothers.  Whether  the  three 
names  originally  denoted  peoples  or  traditional  heroes  is  uncertain. 
Ham  (Kham)  is  sometimes  explained  as  equivalent  to  Khem,  an 
ancient  name  of  Egypt,  or  as  meaning  '  hot,'  and  denoting  the 
peoples  of  the  hot  south.     Cf.  on  ix.  24-27  and  x. 


I 


SIS  6.  1-3.     J  133 

[J]  And  it  catn*3ttfc$niss,  when  men  began  to  multiply  6 
on  the  face  of  the  ground,  and  daughters  were  born  unto 
them,  that  the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men  2 
that  they  were  fair ;  and  they  took  them  wives  of  all  that 
they  chose.     And  the  Lord  said,  My  spirit  shall  not  3 
strive  with  man  for  ever,  for  that  he  also  is  flesh :  yet 

vi.  1-4.  The  Matriagcs  of the  Angels  (J).  Certain  angels  marry 
women,  and  of  these  unions  were  born  the  ancient  heroes. 

(a)  Source.  This  section  was  taken  from  the  Primitive  Document, 
whose  editor  seems  to  have  placed  it  at  this  point  of  his  narrative, 
as  an  example  of  the  wickedness  which  led  to  the  Flood.  But  it 
is  a  fragment  of  an  independent  tradition,  which  had  no  original 
connexion  with  the  stories  of  the  Fall  and  the  Flood. 

2.  sons  of  God.  The  regular  O.  T.  phrase  for  supernatural  ' 
beings,  which  would  include  angels  and  demons  ;  '  sons  of  means 
'belonging  to  the  class  of.'  Various  other  explanations,  all  quite 
impossible,  have  been  devised  in  order  to  avoid  the  theological 
difficulties  arising  out  of  the  idea  of  marriage  between  angels  and 
women.  For  instance,  it  has  been  suggested  that  'the  sons  of 
God '  were  the  pious  Sethites,  and  '  the  daughters  of  men  '  the 
wicked  descendants  of  Cain. 

Classical  mythology  is  full  of  stories  of  marriages  between  gods 
or  demi-gods  and  mortals. 

This  section  is  the  origin  of  numerous  legends  as  to  the  Fall  of 
the  Angels,  cf.  2  Pet.  ii.  4  f.,  Jude  6  f.  ;  but  there  is  no  reference 
to  any  punishment  of  the  '  sons  of  God '  in  this  fragment  of  the 
ancient  tradition. 

3,  4.  These  verses  are  extremely  obscure  ;  verse  3  has  no  obvious 
connexion  with  the  context,  and  may  be  an  addition.  The  obscurity 
probably  arises  from  the  mutilation  and  modification  of  the  original 
story. 

3.  My  spirit  shall  not  strive  with  man  for  ever.  This 
rendering  suggests  that  God  was  continually  attempting  to  keep 
man  in  the  ways  of  righteousness,  and  that  man  was  continually 
resisting.  The  meaning  of  the  word  translated  '  strive '  is  quite 
uncertain.  Many  ancient  versions  have  '  abide  in.1  and  R.  V.  marg. 
also  suggests  another  alternative,  '  rule  in.'  In  any  case  the  verse 
seems  to  imply  that  but  for  the  special  intervention  of  Yahweh 
men  would  have  lived  for  ever.  We  might  get  a  connexion  with 
the  previous  verses  by  supposing  that  the  '  man  '  referred  to  here 
means  the  offspring  of  these  marriages,  who  would  have  been 
immortal,  like  the  i  sons  of  God,'  if  Yahweh  had  not  interfered. 

for  that  he  also  is  flesh :  a  meaningless  truism,  which  cannot 
fairly  represent  anything  that  stood  in  the  original  story.     Here 


i34  GENESIS  6.  j&  $J) 


4  shall  his  days  be  an  hundred  atpd?  tflrgrity  years.     The 

Nephilim  were  in  the  earth  in  those  days,  and  also  after 

that,  when  the  sons  of  God  came  in  unto  the  daughters 

of  men,  and  they  bare  children  to  them  :  the  same  were 

the  mighty  men  which  were  of  old,  the  men  of  renown. 

again  the  meaning  of  our  present  Hebrew  text  is  quite  uncertain. 
The  R.  V.  marg.,  'in  their  going  astray  they  are  flesh,'  is  also 
obscure.  It  would  seem  to  mean  that  in  moral  matters  men  were 
poor  weak  creatures.  Or  it  might  mean  that  they  had  become  flesh, 
and  lost  their  higher,  divine  nature,  or  perhaps  their  immortality, 
by  going  astray.  Perhaps  the  present  Hebrew  text  has  arisen 
out  of  mistakes  in  copying. 

yet  shall  Ms  days :  a  concession  ;  he  might  have  been  cut  off 
at  once.  The  R.  V.  marg.,  '  therefore,'  implies  that  but  for  this 
intervention  man  would  have  lived  much  more  than  120  years. 

"be  an  hundred  and  twenty  years.  This  may  mean  that 
henceforward  human  life  should  be  limited  to  120  years,  as  distin- 
guished either  (a)  from  the  patriarchs  of  ch.  v  who  lived  hundreds 
of  years,  or  (b)  from  the  immortality  which  men  might  have 
enjoyed ;  cf.  above.  If  the  view  (a)  be  taken,  the  verse  is  a  very 
late  addition  either  by  the  Priestty  writer  or  one  of  his  followers. 
But  the  verse  has  also  been  taken  to  mean  that  the  human  race 
would  only  be  allowed  to  exist  for  another  120  j'ears.  If  so,  the 
reference  would  probably  be  to  the  coming  Flood,  and  it  would 
again  seem  that  the  verse  did  not  belong  to  the  original  story. 

4.  Nephilim :  R.  V.  marg.,  'giants.'  The  Nephilim  are  only 
mentioned  once  again,  Num.  xiii.  33:  '  And  there,'  in  Palestine, 
.'we,'  the  twelve  spies,  'saw  the  Nephilim,  the  sons  of  Anak 
which  come  of  the  Nephilim  :  and  we  were  in  our  own  sight 
as  grasshoppers.'  If  we  render  'Nephilim.'  the  word  may  be 
the  name  of  some  ancient  race  who  were  supposed  to  be  descended 
from  these  marriages — a  view  which  ignored  the  Flood.  But 
according  to  R.  V.  marg.  the  word  is  simply  a  rare  term  for  giants. 

were  in  the  earth  in  those  days.     Perhaps  we  might  render 
'arose  in  the  earth,'  i.  e.  the  Nephilim  were  the  offspring  of  these 
•marriages.     At  any  rate,  that  must  have  been  the  meaning  of  the 
story  in  its  original  form. 

and  also  after  that.  These  words  come  in  very  awkwardl)' ; 
such  parentheses  are  unusual  in  classical  Hebrew.  Hence  the 
clause  is  probably  a  note  added  by  some  one  who  wished  to  guard 
against  the  apparent  contradiction  of  Num.  xiii.  33. 

the  mighty  men  .  .  .  the  men  of  renown.  The  heroes  of 
ancient  story,  corresponding  to  the  Greek  demi-gods.  Possibly 
the  tradition  of  which  these  verses  are  a  fragment  proceeded  to 
tell  the  story  of  these  heroes. 


GENESIS  6.  5.     J 


135 


And  the  Lord  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  5 

vi.  5 — ix.  17.    The  Flood.     (A  narrative  in  which  J  and  P  are 
combined.) 

Primitive  Document  (J). 


vi.  5-8.  The  moral  corruption 
of  the  world.  Yah  weh  purposes 
to  destroy  it.  Noah's  righteous- 
ness. 


vii.  1-5.  Yahweh  bids  Noah 
gather  into  the  ark  his  family, 
and  two  of  each  kind  of  unclean 
animal  and  seven  of  each  kind 
of  clean  animal.     Noah  obeys. 


Priestly  Document  (P> 


vi.  9-13.  Noah's  righteous- 
ness. The  moral  corruption  of 
the  world.  God  purposes  to 
destroy  it. 


vi.  14-22.  God  bids  Noah 
build  an  ark  of  certain  dimen- 
sions, and  to  gather  into  it  his 
family  and  two  of  each  kind  of 
living  creature ;  and  to  store 
the  ark  with  provisions.  Noah 
obeys. 


vii.  7  (?).  Noah  and  his  family 
enter  the  ark. 

vii.  10.  The  Flood  begins. 
12,  i6b,  17.     Rain   for  forty 
days.     Yahweh  shuts  Noah  in. 


vii.  6-9,  13-16**.  Noah,  his 
family,  and  the  animals  enter 
the  ark. 

vii.  11.  The  Flood  begins. 

vii.  24 1.  The  waters  prevail 
for  a  hundred  and  fifty  days. 


vii.  22,  23.  All  living  creatures 
are  drowned  except  those  in 
the  ark. 


viii.  2b,  3%  6a.  At  the  end  of 
the  forty  days  (vii.  17)  the  Flood 
ceases  to  increase. 


vii.  18-2T.  The  Flood  in- 
creases, and  all  living  creatures 
are  drowned,  except  those  in 
the  ark. 


viii.  6b-9.  Noah  sends  forth 
a  raven  which  does  not  return  ; 
[he  waits  seven  days2]  and 
sends  out  a  dove,  which  returns 
because  the  earth  is  still  covered 
with  water. 


viii.  1,  2a,  3b-4.  At  the  end  of 
the  150  days  (vii.  24),  on  the 
seventeenth  day  of  the  seventh 
month,  the  Flood  ceases  to 
increase,  and  the  ark  rests  on 
the  mountains  of  Ararat. 

viii.  5.  The  waters  decrease 
till  the  first  day  of  the  tenth 
month,  when  the  tops  of  the 
mountains  are  seen. 


1  These  passages  have  been  slightly  displaced  in  order  to  facilitate 
the  comparison  of  the  two  accounts. 

2  See  note  on  this  verse. 


136 


GENESIS  6.  5.     J 


in  the  earth,  and  that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts 


Primitive  Document  (J). 

Priestly  Document  (P). 

viii.  10,  11.     After      another 
seven  days    he   sends   out  the 
dove  again  ;  she  returns  with  an 
olive  leaf,  and  he  knows  that 
the  waters  have  abated. 

viii.  12.  i3b.    After     another 
seven  days  he  again  sends  out 
the  dove;    when  she  does  not 
return  he  removes  the  covering 
of  the  ark  and  sees    that   the 
ground  is  dry. 

viii.  13  a.  On  the  first  day  of 
the  first  month  of  the  next  year 
the  waters  had  disappeared. 

viii.  14.  On  the  twenty- 
seventh  day  of  the  second 
month  the  earth  was  dry. 

viii.  15-19.  At  God's  bidding 
Noah  leaves  the  ark  with  his 
family  and  the  animals. 

ix.  1-7.  God  blesses  Noah 
and  his  sons,  and  permits  them 
to  eat  animal  food,  but  without 
the  blood.  God  ordains  the 
punishment  of  death  for  murder. 

viii.  20-22.    Noah    builds   an 
altar  and  sacrifices  to  Yahweh, 
who  promises  that  He  will  not 
again  destroy  all  living  beings, 
or  interrupt  the  regular  course 
of  the  seasons. 

ix.  8-17.  God  makes  a  cove- 
nant with  Noah  and  his  descend- 
ants that  He  will  not  again 
destroy  all  living  beings  by 
a  Flood.  He  makes  the  rain- 
bow the  pledge  of  this  covenant. 

(a)  Sources.  Up  to  this  point  the  editor  has  given  us  complete 
sections  from  either  the  Primitive  or  the  Priestly  Document ;  but 
now  he  adopts  a  new  method,  and  weaves  together  alternate 
paragraphs  and  sentences  from  these  two  documents  into  a  con- 
tinuous narrative1.  Of  the  two  stories  of  the  Flood  which  have 
been  thus  combined,  one  connects  with  the  other  sections  of  the 
Priestly  Document  by  its  use  of  the  Divine  Name  Elohim  and 
other  characteristic  terms,  b}'  its  chronology  and  its  fondness  for 
statistics  generally,  and  by  its  reference  to  the  making  of  man  in 
the  image  of  God  2.  The  other  version  of  the  story  connects  with 
the  Primitive  Document  by  its  use  of  the  Divine  Name  Yahweh 
and  other  characteristic  terms;  bj'  its  anthropomorphism — 
Yahweh  shuts  Noah  in3 — and  its  picturesque  details,  for  instance, 
the  sending  out  of  the  raven  and  the  dove. 


1  Cf.  p.  11. 


Gen.  ix.  G. 


Gen.  vii.  16. 


GENESIS  6.  6.     J  137 

of  his  heart  was  only  evil  continually.     And  it  repented  6 

(J))  Comparison  of  the  two  Narratives.  A  glance  at  the  parallel 
columns  of  the  analysis  will  show  that  the  main  lines  of  the  two 
stories  are  the  same.  We  have  already  seen  that  they  illustrate 
the  characteristic  differences  of  the  two  documents.  We  may 
also  note  the  following:  in  J,  there  are  taken  into  the  ark  seven 
pairs  of  each  kind  of  clean  animals,  and  one  pair  of  unclean  ;  in  P, 
one  pair  of  each1.  In  J,  the  Flood  is  caused  by  rain;  in  P,  by 
a  cosmic  convulsion  f.  In  J,  the  period  from  the  announcement  of 
the  Flood  to  the  departure  from  the  ark  is  7  +  40  +  3  x  7  =  68  days3 ; 
in  P,  the  Flood  lasts  for  365  days,  i.  e.  a  solar  year4.  In  J.  Noah 
offers  a  sacrifice  ;  in  P,  God  makes  a  covenant  with  him. 

(c)  The  Babylonian  Flood  Story.  The  Bab3'lonian  story  of  the 
Flood  is  known  to  us  from  Berosus  and  from  cuneiform  tablets  ; 
and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Creation,  the  Biblical  narrative  is 
another  version  of  the  same  story.  Leaving  details  for  the 
commentary,  the  general  facts  are  as  follows.  The  story  in  the 
tablets  is  an  episode  in  the  Babylonian  epic  of  Izdudar.  This  hero 
visits  his  ancestor  Tsitnapishtim  in  the  abode  of  the  gods,  and  asks 
him  how  he  came  thither.  Tsitnapishtim  relates  the  story  of  the 
Flood.  In  Berosus  the  hero  of  the  Flood  is  the  tenth  Babylonian 
king  Xisuthrus.  In  all  three  accounts  the  hero  is  divinely  warned 
of  the  coming  Flood,  told  to  build  a  vessel,  and  to  go  into  it  with 
his  family  and  the  animals.  He  does  so  ;  the  Flood  comes,  and 
all  not  in  the  ark  are  drowned.  The  ship  grounds  on  a  mountain. 
Certain  birds  are  sent  out ;  the  hero  leaves  the  ship,  and  offers 
sacrifice.  Then  in  Berosus  and  the  tablets  the  hero  is  taken  to 
dwell  with  the  gods.  These  two  versions,  especially  that  of  the 
tablets,  are  polytheistic  ;  and  the  tablets  describe  the  discussions 
and  the  dissensions  of  the  various  gods  over  the  fate  of  man. 
Here,  too,  a  pilot  is  an  important  character.  To  a  large  extent  the 
details  of  each  of  the  two  Biblical  stories  of  the  Flood  are  to  be 
found  in  the  cuneiform  account  ;  on  some  points  both  P  and  J 
agree  with  the  tablets ;  sometimes  P  agrees,  and  J  ignores  or 
differs ;  and  sometimes  vice  versa.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Creation 
narrative,  the  Biblical  accounts  represent  forms  given  to  ancient 
Semitic  tradition  by  a  long  course  of  transmission  amongst  the 
Israelites  ;  but  on  some  points  the  resemblances  are  so  close  that 
it  seems  as  if  both5  authors  had  revised  the  Israelite  tradition  with 
the  help  of  information  derived  from  Babylonian  sources. 

Flood  stories  are  found  in  the  folklore  of  many  ancient  peoples, 


1  Gen.  vii.  2,  but  cf.  note  on  that  verse,  vi.  19. 

2  Gen.  vii.  11,  12,  17;  cf.  notes. 

3  Cf.  not^s  on  vii.  4,  10,  12,  viii.  10,  12. 

*  Cf.  notes  on  vii.  11,  24,  viii.  3,  13  f.  5  P  and  J. 


138  GENESIS  6.  7-11.     JP 

the  Lord  that  he  had  made  man  on  the  earth,  and  it 

7  grieved  him  at  his  heart.  And  the  Lord  said,  I  will 
destroy  man  whom  I  have  created  from  the  face  of  the 
ground;  both  man,  and  beast,  and  creeping  thing,  and 
fowl  of  the  air;  for  it  repenteth  me  that  I  have  made 

8  them.     But  Noah  found  grace  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord. 

9  [P]  These  are  the  generations  of  Noah.  Noah  was  a 
righteous  man,  and  perfect  in  his   generations :    Noah 

10  walked  with  God.     And  Noah  begat  three  sons,  Shem, 

11  Ham,  and  Japheth.     And  the  earth  was  corrupt  before 

and  may  have  originated  in  exceptionally  disastrous  inundations. 
At  any  rate,  the  form  of  the  legends  has  been  partly  determined 
by  men's  experience  of  actual  floods.  Thus  the  Biblical  narrative 
may  have  been  originally  a  reminiscence  of  a  terrible  deluge  in  the 
plains  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris  ;  and  the  various  versions 
of  the  story  have  been  shaped  by  the  circumstances  of  floods  in 
Palestine  and  Babylonia. 

vi.  5-8.     Primitive  Document.      The  corruption  of  the  world. 

5.  the  LOBS  saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great. 
The  Babylonian  account  in  no  way  emphasizes  the  idea  that  the 
Flood  was  sent  because  of  the  corruption  of  the  race  ;  but  it  seems 
to  imply  that  it  was  the  punishment  of  sin. 

6.  it  repented  the  LORD.  Another  example  of  our  author's 
speaking  of  Yahweh  as  one  would  of  a  man.  The  changes  of 
God's  dealings  suggest  to  men  changes  in  His  purposes  ;  and  the 
author  records  the  impressions  of  God  which  Israelites  in  early 
times  derived  from  their  experience  of  life. 

I.  destroy :  blot  out. 

8.  found  grace.  'Grace'  here  carries  with  it  none  of  the 
theological  ideas  connected  with  the  word  in  the  N.T.  and  in 
Christian  theology.     i  Found  grace  '  simply  means  \  found  favour.' 

vi.  9-13.     The  Priestly  Document.      The  corruption  of  the  world. 

9.  the  generations  of  Noah.  The  heading  of  a  new  section. 
Cf.  ii.  4,  v.  1. 

righteous  .  .  .  perfect  (marg.,  'blameless'-  .  .  .  walked  with 
God.  The  threefold  description  emphasizes  Noah's  goodness. 
'  Walked  with  God,'  as  Enoch  (v.  24).  The  righteousness  of  the 
hero  of  the  Flood  is  not  emphasized  in  the  Babylonian  story, 
though  it  is  referred  to  by  Berosus. 

10.  Repeats  v.  33  b. 

II.  corrupt  before  God,  in  His  sight  and  judgement. 


GENESIS  6.  12-15.     P  139 

God,  and  the  earth  was  filled  with  violence.     And  God  12 
saw  the  earth,  and,  behold,  it  was  corrupt ;  for  all  flesh 
had  corrupted  his  way  upon  the  earth. 

And  God  said  unto  Noah,  The  end  of  all  flesh  is  come  13 
before  me ;  for  the  earth  is  filled  with  violence  through 
them ;  and,  behold,  I  will  destroy  them  with  the  earth. 
Make  thee  an  ark  of  gopher  wood ;   rooms  shalt  thou  14 
make  in  the  ark,  and  shalt  pitch  it  within  and  without 
with  pitch.     And  this  is  how  thou  shalt  make  it :   the  15 
length  of  the  ark  three  hundred  cubits,  the  breadth  of  it 

1 2.  all  flesh  had  corrupted  his  way.  '  All  flesh '  may  be  '  all 
mankind,'  or,  less  probably,  all  living  creatures. 

13.  The   end   of  all  flesh   is   come   before   me.      God   had 

determined  to  make  an  end  of  ;  all  flesh.' 

In  the  tablets  the  Flood  is  caused  by  Bel,  whilst  another  god, 
Ea,  warns  Tsitnapishtim  of  the  coming  catastrophe  in  a  dream, 
and  directs  him  to  build  a  ship. 

vi.  14-22.     Priestly  Document.     Directions  about  the  ark. 

14.  ark :  Heb.  iebah.  The  same  word  is  used  for  the  ark  in 
which  Moses  was  placed  in  the  Nile  ;  tebah  does  not  occur  else- 
where, the  wocd  for  the  sacred  ark  of  the  tabernacle  and  temple 
is  'aron. 

gopher  wood.  'Gopher,'  only  found  here,  is  a  Hebrew 
word  written  in  English  letters.  Its  meaning  is  unknown  ;  various 
woods  more  or  less  suitable  for  shipbuilding  have  been  suggested, 
e.  g.  cedar,  fir  :  also  cypress  (Greek,  kuparissos^,  a  word  similar  to 
'gopher,'  and  sometimes  supposed  to  be  derived  from  it.  Perhaps 
the  unfamiliar  gopher  is  a  scribe's  error,  due  to  the  proximity  of 
the  similar  word  kopher  for  '  pitch.'  The  resemblance  of  gopher  to 
another  Hebrew  word  gophrith,  '  brimstone,'  does  not  throw  any 
light  on  the  matter. 

rooms :  Heb.  '  nests ' ;    i.  e.  places  for  the  men  and  animals  ; 

only  in  this   sense  here.      This  and  other  unusual  and  obscure 

expressions  are  probably  derived  from  old  versions  of  the  story 

cf.  next  note),  and  ma}T  sometimes  be  due  to  misunderstanding  of 

obsolete  or  foreign  words. 

pitch,  or  rather  '  bitumen,'  a  kind  of  mineral  pitch.  The 
word  kopher  only  occurs  in  Hebrew  in  this  verse,  and  is  a 
reminiscence  of  the  Babylonian  story,  where  a  quantity  of  bitumen 
(ktt-np-ri)  is  poured  over  the  ship. 

15.  length  .  .  .  three  hundred  dibits,  .  .  .  breadth  .  .  .  fifty 
cubits,  .  .  .  height .  .  .  thirty  cubits.     The  length  of  the  cubit 


I4o  GENESIS  6.  16,  17.     P 

E6  fifty  cubits,  and  the  height  of  it  thirty  cubits.  A  light 
shalt  thou  make  to  the  ark,  and  to  a  cubit  shalt  thou 
finish  it  upward  j  and  the  door  of  the  ark  shalt  thou  set 
in  the  side  thereof;  with  lower,  second,  and  third  stories 

17  shalt  thou  make  it.     And  I,  behold,  I  do  bring  the  flood 

varied  at  different  times  and  places  from  about  17I-  in.  to  about 
21  \  in.  or  even  more.  It  is  not  known  what  cubit  is  intended 
here.  If  we  reckon  the  cubit  at  if)  ft.,  the  dimensions  are  450  x  75 
X45ft.  The  dimensions  of  the  new  White  Star  liner  Arabic  are 
600  x  65  x  44  ft.,  and  of  the  new  British  battleship  King  Edward  VII 
(16,350  tons^  425  x  78  x  43  ft.  4  ins.  The  corresponding  passage  in 
the  tablets  is  a  little  obscure,  but  is  read  l  as  giving  the  height 
120  cubits,  and  the  breadth  120  cubits.  In  Berosus  the  ship  is 
5  stadia,  about  3,030  ft.,  long,  and  2  stadia,  about  1,212  ft.,  broad. 

16.  A  light.  The  Hebrew  word  zohar  is  only  found  here,  and 
its  meaning  is  uncertain.  The  root  has  the  sense  of  '  light '  in 
post-Biblical  Hebrew.  In  the  O.  T.  the  dual  form  zohorayim 
means  '  noon-day,'  and  zohar  is  sometimes  translated  '  light,1  i.  e. 
'  window,'  or  opening  for  light.  The  R.  V.  marg.  rendering 
'roof  is  suggested  by  the  meaning  of  similar  words  in  languages 
of  the  same  group  (Semitic)  as  Hebrew.  In  the  Babylonian  there 
is  a  window  in  the  ship. 

to  a  cubit  shalt  thou  finish  it  upward  :  R.  V.  marg.,  S  from 
above.'  This  obscure  clause  fairly  represents  an  unintelligible 
piece  of  Hebrew.  Whether  '  it '  is  the  '  light '  or  '  window '  or 
'roof,'  of  the  ark  is  uncertain,  nor  is  it  clear  how  the  cubit  comes 
in.  A  window  a  cubit  square  would  be  absurd,  but  it  might  be 
a  cubit  high,  or  a  cubit  from  the  top  of  the  ark.  Perhaps  the 
following2  is  as  probable  a  view  as  any:  'Nothing  prevents  us 
from  thinking  of  the  opening  for  light,  one  cubit  in  size  or  in 
height,  as  running  round  the  four  sides,  at  the  top,  naturally 
interrupted  by  the  beams  or  posts  supporting  the  roof,  which  thus 
formed,  so  to  speak,  a  continuous  series  of  zohar.' 

17.  flood.  The  Hebrew  word  mabbul  is  only  used  of  Noah's 
flood,  and  only  occurs  in  Gen.  ix-xi  (in  both  documents)  and 
in  Psalm  xxix.  10.  The  origin  and  etymology  of  mabbul  are 
unknown. 

the  flood  of  waters  upon  the  earth:  better,  'the  Hood, 
waters  upon  the  earth.'  'The  flood'  because,  when  the  story 
was  told  in  ancient  Israel,  Noah's  flood  was  a  well-known  theme  ; 
'waters  upon  the  earth,'  an  explanation  by  the  late  Priestly 
author  of  an  archaic  word. 

1  Gunkel.  2  Dillmann  on  this  verse. 


GENESIS  G.  18— 7.  i.    PJ  141 

of  waters  upon  the  earth,  to  destroy  all  flesh,  wherein  is 
the  breath  of  life,  from  under  heaven ;  every  thing  that 
is  in  the  earth  shall  die.     But  I  will  establish  my  cove-  18 
nant  with  thee ;  and  thou  shalt  come  into  the  ark,  thou, 
and  thy  sons,  and  thy  wife,  and  thy  sons'  wives  with  thee. 
And  of  every  living  thing  of  all  flesh,  two  of  every  sort  19 
shalt  thou  bring  into  the  ark,  to  keep  them  alive  with 
thee ;  they  shall  be  male  and  female.     Of  the  fowl  after  20 
their  kind,  and  of  the  cattle  after  their  kind,  of  every 
creeping  thing  of  the  ground  after  its  kind,  two  of  every 
sort  shall  come  unto  thee,  to  keep  them  alive.    And  take  21 
thou  unto  thee  of  all  food  that  is  eaten,  and  gather  it  to 
thee;  and  it  shall  be  for  food  for  thee,  and  for  them. 
Thus  did  Noah ;  according  to  all  that  God  commanded  22 
him,  so  did  he. 

[J]  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Noah,  Come  thou  and  all  7 

18.  covenant.  In  such  passages  as  these  a  covenant  is  not,  as 
elsewhere,  a  compact  between  two  parties,  but  a  declarative  act 
on  the  part  of  God,  'a  divine  constitution  or  ordinance  with  signs 
or  pledges1.' 

19.  two  of  every  sort.  In  the  Primitive  Document  there  are 
to  be  seven,  or  seven  pairs,  of  the  clean  animals,  and  two  of  the 
unclean,  vii.  2.  According  to  the  Priestly  writer  the  distinction 
between  clean  and  unclean  animals  was  part  of  the  revelation 
made  to  Moses,  and  therefore  could  not  be  known  to  Noah. 

male  and  female.  The  Hebrew  for  this  phrase  is  different  in 
the  two  documents. 

22.  In  the  tablets  Tsitnapishtim  takes  into  the  ship  not  only 
his  family  and  the  animals,  but  also  slaves  and  artisans.  Details 
are  given  as  to  the  provisions  taken  on  board,  and  we  are  told 
that  Tsitnapishtim  took  with  him  his  silver  and  gold  and  the  rest 
of  his  property.  Naturally  nothing  is  said  of  fishes  in  any  of  the 
accounts. 

vii.  1-5.  Primitive  Document.     Directions  as  to  the  ark. 

1.  Come  .  . .  into  the  ark.  The  account  given  by  this  document 
of  the  building  of  the  ark  has  been  omitted,  probably  because  it 
would  have  added  nothing  to  vi.  15-22. 

1  Brown-Driver-Briggs,  Hebrew  Lexicon. 


142  GENESIS  7.  2,  3.     J 

thy  house  into  the  ark  ;  for  thee  have  I  seen  righteous  be- 

2  fore  me  in  this  generation.  Of  every  clean  beast  thou  shalt 
take  to  thee  seven  and  seven,  the  male  and  his  female ; 
and  of  the  beasts  that  are  not  clean  two,  the  male  and  his 

3  female ;  of  the  fowl  also  of  the  air,  seven  and  seven,  male 

2,  3.     Cf.  vi.  19,  20. 

2.  clean  .  .  .  not  clean.  Lists  of  the  clean  and  unclean  animals 
are  given  in  Lev.  xi  and  Deut.  xiv.  3-20.  The  clean  are  defined 
as  the  beasts  that  part  the  hoof,  and  are  clovenfooted,  and  chew 
the  cud,  and  the  fishes  that  have  fins  and  scales1.  The  other 
beasts  and  fishes  are  unclean.  No  criterion  of  cleanness  is  given 
for  birds,  but  the  unclean  sorts  —mostly  birds  of  prey —are  enumer- 
ated. In  Deut.  xiv.  19  all  winged  creeping  things  are  unclean, 
but  in  Lev.  xi.  20-23  only  winged  creeping  things  that  go  on  all 
fours  are  unclean,  and  various  sorts  of  locusts  are  mentioned  as 
clean  and  legitimate  food.  W.  Robertson  Smith  2  considered  that 
the  laws  of  uncleanness  were  survivals  of  an  earlier  form  of  faith 
and  of  society,  and  were  '  parallel  to  the  taboos  which  totemism 
lays  on  the  use  of  sacred  animals  as  food.'  Probably,  however, 
the  laws  as  we  find  them  in  the  Pentateuch  have  been  partly 
shaped  by  considerations  of  what  is  healthy  and  seemly.  Clean- 
ness and  uncleanness  is  not  referred  to  in  the  tablets. 

Of  every  clean  beast  .  .  .  seven  and  seven,  the  male  and  his 
female.  This  is  variously  interpreted  to  mean  seven  pairs  or 
seven  individuals.  If  seven  individuals  are  meant  the  idea  may 
be  three  pairs  and  a  solitary  male  for  sacrifice  ;  but  '  seven '  may 
be  used  as  the  sacred  number,  cf.  verse  9. 

3.  fowl .  . .  of  the  air  :  without  distinction  of  clean  and  unclean, 
taking  the  text  literally  as  it  stands.  Possibly  the  provision  as  to 
the  beasts  was  meant  to  be  taken  for  granted  here  also.  The 
'  seven  and  seven  '  cannot  imply  that  only  clean  birds  were  taken, 
because  the  raven  was  unclean3.  The  LXX,  however,  inserts 
after  'female,'  'and  of  the  fowl  that  are  not  clean  two  and  two, 
male  and  female.'  These  words  may  very  well  have  stood  in  the 
original  Hebrew,  and  have  been  accidentally  omitted  through 
confusion  between  the  two  'females.'  The  scribe  had  written 
as  far  as  theirs/  'female,1  was  interrupted,  and  on  resuming  saw 
that  the  last  word  he  had  written  was  '  female,'  and  supposed  it 
to  have  been  the  second  '  female.'  Hence  he  began  again  at  '  to 
keep  seed,'  &c,  thus  omitting  the  words  supplied  by  the  LXX. 
This  kind  of  error  has  led  to  many  omissions  in  manuscripts  of 

'  Lev.  xi.  3,  9;   Deut.  xiv.  6,  9. 

-  Religion  of  the  Semites,  p.  44S  f . 

3  Gen.  viii.  7;  Lev.  xi.  15;  Deut.  xiv.  14. 


GENESIS  7.  4-10.     JPJ  143 

and  female :  to  keep  seed  alive  upon  the  face  of  all  the 
earth.     For  yet  seven  days,  and  I  will  cause  it  to  rain    4 
upon  the  earth  forty  days  and  forty  nights;  and  every 
living  thing  that  I  have  made  will  I  destroy  from  off  the 
face  of  the  ground.     And  Noah  did  according  unto  all   5 
that  the  Lord  commanded  him. 

[P]  And  Noah  was  six  hundred  years  old  when  the   6 
flood  of  waters  was  upon  the  earth.     And  Noah  went  in,    7 
and  his  sons,  and  his  wife,  and  his  sons'  wives  with  him, 
into  the  ark,  because  of  the  waters  of  the  flood.    Of  clean   8 
beasts,  and  of  beasts  that  are  not  clean,  and  of  fowls,  and 
of  every  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  ground,  there  went   9 
in  two  and  two  unto  Noah  into  the  ark,  male  and  female, 
as  God  commanded  Noah.    [J]  And  it  came  to  pass  after  10 

the  N.  T.,  and  is  known  by  the  technical  term  '  homoeoteleuton,' 
or  an  omission  due  to  \  similar  endings.' 

to  keep  seed  alive  :  to  provide  for  the  continuance  by  propa- 
gation of  the  various  kinds  of  animals,  &c. 

4.  For  yet  seven  days.  In  the  tablets,  Shamash,  the  sun-god, 
appoints  a  time,  length  not  specified. 

I  will  cause  it  to  rain.    Cf.  verse  11.    In  the  tablets  also  the 
Flood  is  caused  by  rain. 

forty  days  and  forty  nights.     In  the  tablets  the  rain  lasts 
'  six  days  and  (six?;  nights.' 

destroy  :  Heb.  '  blot  out,'  as  in  vi.  7. 

vii.  6-9.   Priestly  Document.     Noah,  d-c,  go  on  board. 

6-9.  There  are  additions  in  these  verses  that  have  been  made 
by  the  editor,  thus  anticipating  verses  13-17  ;  see  especially  on 
verse  8.     Verse  7  is  perhaps  partly  J. 

6.  Noah  was  six  hundred  years  old.  This  statement  fixes 
the  date  of  the  Flood  in  the  Priestly  system  of  chronology  set 
forth  in  ch.  v,  xi,  &c.    Cf.  p.  126. 

8,  9.  Of  clean  beasts,  and  of  beasts  that  are  not  clean,  .  .  . 
there  went  in  two  and  two.  These  words  are  not  from  the 
original  Priestly  writer,  who  held  that  the  distinction  between 
clean  and  unclean  was  unknown  in  the  time  of  Noah,  cf.  verses  2  f.  ; 
but  from  an  editor  or  scribe  who  noticed  the  contradiction  between 
vi.  19  f.  and  vii.  2  f. ;  and  inserted  a  note  to  make  it  quite  clear 
that  the  view  taken  by  vi.  19  f.  was  the  correct  one. 


i44  GENESIS  7.  ii-i3.     JPJP 

the  seven  days,  that  the  waters  of  the  flood  were  upon 
ii  the  earth.  [P]  In  the  six  hundredth  year  of  Noah's  life, 
in  the  second  month,  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  the 
month,  on  the  same  day  were  all  the  fountains  of  the 
great  deep  broken  up,  and  the  windows  of  heaven  were 

12  opened.     [J]  And  the  rain  was  upon  the  earth  forty  days 

13  and  forty  nights.     [P]  In  the  selfsame  day  entered  Noah, 

vii.  10.   Primitive  Document.      The  Flood  begins. 

10.  the  seven  days.     Cf.  vii.  4. 

vii.  11.  Priestly  Document.      The  Flood  begins. 

11.  the  six  hundredth  year  of  Noah's  life  .  .  .  the  second 
month  . . .  the  seventeenth  day.  These  exact  chronological  details 
are  characteristic  of  the  Priestly  writer.  He  probably  assumed  that 
time  was  reckoned  from  the  Creation,  i.  e.  that  the  first  day  of 
Creation  was  the  first  day  of  the  first  month  of  the  first  year.  In 
the  same  way  he  seems  to  take  for  granted  that  each  year  of  Noah's 
life  coincided  with  a  calendar  year,  so  that  Noah  was  born  on 
a  New  Year's  Day.  Otherwise  we  cannot  get  the  exact  definition 
of  time  which  our  author  evidently  intends  to  give  us. 

second  month.  There  are  in  the  O.  T.  two  modes  of  reckon- 
ing, according  to  one  of  which  the  year  began  about  April,  and 
according  to  the  other  about  October.  It  is  doubtful  which  is 
intended  here.  If  the  j^ear  began  in  October  the  second  month 
would  be  November,  the  beginning  of  the  rainy  season,  and  the 
150  da}rs  during  which  the  Flood  increased  would  about  bring  us 
to  the  end  of  the  rainy  season  in  March.  If  the  year  began  in 
April  the  second  month  would  be  May,  the  season  of  the  great 
inundations  of  the  Babylonian  plain.  A  late  version  of  the 
Babylonian  story  makes  the  Flood  begin  at  this  time  ;  the  tablets 
give  no  date. 

the  seventeenth  day :  probably  a  date  on  which  the  rain 
or  the  inundation  was  supposed  to  begin.  The  late  version  referred 
to  above  makes  the  Flood  begin  on  the  fifteenth.  Here  and  in 
viii.  4  the  LXX  has  f  twenty-seventh,'  as  the  Hebrew  has  in 
viii.  14. 

were  .  .  .  the  fountains  of  the  g-reat  deep  broken  up.  '  The 
great  deep'  is  the  tehom  of  i.  2.  The  Flood  in  this  document  is 
not  caused  by  ordinary  rain,  but  the  work  of  the  second  day  of 
Creation,  by  which  the  waters  of  the  deep  were  separated  from 
those  of  heaven,  is  undone  ;  and  outside  of  the  ark  primaeval  chaos 
is  restored.    Cf.  Prov.  viii.  28. 

windows  of  heaven.     Cf.  2  Kings  vii.  2,  19;  Mai.  iii.  10. 
vii.  12.   Primitive  Document.     Rain  for  forty  days.    Cf.  verse  4. 


GENESIS  7.  14-20.     PJP  145 

and  Shem,  and  Ham,  and  Japheth,  the  sons  of  Noah,  and 
Noah's  wife,  and  the  three  wives  of  his  sons  with  them, 
into  the  ark ;  they,  and  every  beast  after  its  kind,  and  all  14 
the  cattle  after  their  kind,  and  every  creeping  thing  that 
creepeth  upon  the  earth  after  its  kind,  and  every  fowl 
after  its  kind,  every  bird  of  every  sort.     And  they  went  15 
in  unto   Noah  into  the  ark,  two  and  two  of  all  flesh 
wherein  is  the  breath  of  life.     And  they  that  went  in,  16 
went  in  male  and  female  of  all  flesh,  as  God  commanded 
him  :  [J]  and  the  Lord  shut  him  in.     And  the  flood  was  17 
forty  days  upon  the  earth ;  and  the  waters  increased,  and 
bare  up  the  ark,  and  it  was  lift  up  above  the  earth. 

[P]  And  the  waters  prevailed,  and  increased  greatly  18 
upon  the  earth ;  and  the  ark  went  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters.     And  the  waters  prevailed  exceedingly  upon  the  19 
earth ;  and  all  the  high  mountains  that  were  under  the 
whole  heaven  were  covered.     Fifteen  cubits  upward  did  20 

vii.  13-16*  *.  Priestly  Document.     Noah,  dr.,  enter  the  ark. 

These  verses  are  the  original  account  given  by  the  Priestly 
writer  of  the  entry  into  the  ark  ;  they  have  been  anticipated  by 
verses  7-9,  an  insertion  by  an  editor. 

14.  Every  "bird  of  every  sort :  Heb.  '  wing.'  These  words 
are  not  found  in  the  LXX,  and  may  be  an  addition  intended  to 
explain  the  preceding  '  every  fowl ' ;  or  we  might  translate  '  every 
bird,  every  winged  creature,'  including  insects. 

vii.  16 b2,  17.  Primitive  Document.  Noah  shut  in;  the  Flood 
increases. 

15.  the  LORD  shut  him  in.  Another  anthropomorphic  touch  ; 
in  the  tablets  Tsitnapishtim  shuts  the  door. 

1*7.  forty  days :  the  same  forty  days  as  in  verse  12. 
the  waters  increased,  through  the  continuous  rain. 

vii.  18-21.  Priestly  Document.  77?^  devastation  wrought  by  the 
Flood. 

18.  prevailed  here  and  in  verses  19,  20,  24  describes  the 
successive  stages  by  which  the  Flood  increased. 

20.  Fifteen  cubits,  &c.     The  previous  verse  states  that  all  the 

1  As  far  as  ( commanded  him.'  2  From  'and  the  Lord.' 


146  GENESIS  7.  21—8.  1.     PJ  P 

the  waters  prevail;  and  the  mountains  were  covered. 
21  And  all  flesh  died  that  moved  upon  the  earth,  both  fowl, 

and  cattle,  and  beast,  and  every  creeping  thing  that 
2  2  creepeth  upon  the  earth,   and   every  man :    [J]  all  in 

whose  nostrils  was  the  breath  of  the  spirit  of  life,  of  all 

23  that  was  in  the  dry  land,  died.  And  every  living  thing 
was  destroyed  which  was  upon  the  face  of  the  ground, 
both  man,  and  cattle,  and  creeping  thing,  and  fowl  of  the 
heaven ;  and  they  were  destroyed  from  the  earth :  and 
Noah  only  was  left,  and  they  that  were  with  him  in  the 

24  ark.  [P]  And  the  waters  prevailed  upon  the  earth  an 
hundred  and  fifty  days. 

8      And  God  remembered  Noah,  and  every  living  thing, 

high  mountains  were  covered,  so  that  this  verse  must  mean  that 
after  the  Flood  reached  the  level  of  the  tops  of  the  highest  moun- 
tains the  water  continued  to  rise  for  fifteen  cubits,  '  and  the 
mountains  were  covered '  to  that  extent.     Cf.  on  viii.  3,  4. 

21.  In  the  tablets  Tsitnapishtim  looks  out  when  the  storm 
ceases,  and  sees  that  all  mankind  have  become  mud. 

creeping-  thing  that  creepeth  :  R.  V.  marg.,  l swarming  thing 
that  swarmeth.' 

vii.  22,  23.  Primitive  Document.  The  devastation  wrought  by  the 
Flood. 

22.  the  breath  of  the  spirit  of  life.  Owing  to  some  mistake 
in  copying  we  have  here  a  blending  of  two  synon3'mous  phrases, 
'breath  of  life,'  as  in  ii.  7,  vii.  15,  and  'spirit  of  life.'' 

23.  every  living-  thing  was  destroyed :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  he 
destroyed  every  living  thing.' 

destroyed  :  Heb.  l  blotted  out.' 

vii.  24— viii.  a1.  Priestly  Document      Cessation  0/ the  Flood. 

24.  an  hundred  and  fifty  days.    Cf  viii.  3b,  4a. 

1.  God  remembered  Noah,  &c.  Perhaps  rather  !  thought  of  ; 
the  phrase  need  not  imply  that  God  had  forgotten  Noah.  Note 
that  the  animals  are  included  in  God's  kindly  thought. 

2a.     Cf.  vii.  1  ib. 

viii.  2b,  3a  2.     Primitive  Document.     Cessation  0/ the  Flood. 

1  As  far  as  '  were  stopped.' 

2  From  '  and  the  rain  '  to  '  continually.' 


GENESIS  8.  2-5.     PJ  P  147 

and  all  the  cattle  that  were  with  him  in  the  ark :  and 
God  made  a  wind  to  pass  over  the  earth,  and  the  waters 
assuaged ;  the  fountains  also  of  the  deep  and  the  windows  2 
of  heaven  were  stopped,  [J]  and  the  rain  from  heaven 
was  restrained;   and  the  waters  returned  from  off  the  3 
earth  continually :   [P]  and  after  the  end  of  an  hundred 
and  fifty  days  the  waters  decreased.     And  the  ark  rested  4 
in  the  seventh  month,   on  the  seventeenth  day  of  the 
month,  upon  the  mountains  of  Ararat.     And  the  waters  5 

3.  returned  from  off  the  earth  continually :  i.  e.  there  was 
a  continuous  diminution  in  the  amount  and  depth  of  the  water. 

viii.  3b-5  *.     Priestly  Document.      The  drying  tip  of  the  Flood. 

3.  an  hundred  and  fifty  days.     Cf.  vii.  24. 

4.  seventh  month,  .  .  .  seventeenth  day.  Just  five  months 
after  the  beginning  of  the  Flood,  the  five  months  being  the  same 
period  as  the  150  days.  It  is  not  certain  how  the  months  are 
reckoned,  whether  (a)  five  of  thirty  days  each  ;  or  whether  (6) 
150  is  a  round  number  for  the  146  or  147  days  in  five  lunar 
months  ;  or  whether  (c)  the  150  days  and  the  five  months  were 
taken  originally  from  different  sources,  and  represent  slightly 
different  views  as  to   the  length  of  the  same  period. 

Here  and  in  vii.  11  the  LXX  has  '  twenty-seventh  day/  as  the 
Hebrew  has  in  verse  14. 

rested  .  .  .  upon  the  mountains.  The  idea  seems  to  be 
that  the  ark,  which  was  thirty  cubits  high2,  was  inynersed  to 
half  its  depth,  fifteen  cubits  ;  and  that  at  the  moment  when  the 
Flood  reached  its  highest  level,  fifteen  cubits  above  the  summit 
of  the  highest  mountain  3,  the  ark  was  floating  just  above  that 
summit,  so  that  the  very  moment  the  water  began  to  fall  the  ark 
grounded  *.  This  interest  in  exact  chronology  is  characteristic 
of  the  Priestly  Document.  T 

Ararat5,  roughly  corresponds  to  Armenia,  and  is  the  district 
about  Lake  Van  referred  to  in  Assyrian  inscriptions  as  Urartu. 
The  particular  peak  is  often  identified  with  the  highest  mountain 
in  or  near  Urartu,  the  ancient  Massis,  the  modern  Agridagh,  often 
known  as  Mount  Ararat.     The  intention  of  the  writer  is  evidently 

1  From  *  and  after  the  end.' 

2  vi.  15.  '  vii.  20. 

4  Cf.  Dillmann  and  Gunkel. 

5  Elsewhere  in  O.  T.  only:  2  Kings  xix.  37;  Isa.  xxxvii.  385 
Jer.  li.  27. 

L  2 


148  GENESIS  8.  6,  7.     PJ 

decreased  continually  until  the  tenth  month :  in  the 
tenth  month,   on  the  first  day  of  the  month,  were  the 

6  tops  of  the  mountains  seen.     [J]  And  it  came  to  pass  at 
the  end  of  forty  days,  that  Noah  opened  the  window  of 

7  the  ark  which  he  had  m#de :  and  he  sent  forth  a  raven, 

to  select  the  highest  mountain,  and,  with  the  exception  of  Mount 
Elburz,  Mount  Massis  was  the  highest  with  which  he  was  likely 
to  be  acquainted.  He  may  not  have  known  exactly  their  relative 
heights  ;  and  even  if,  as  is  sometimes  asserted,  Mount  Massis  was 
not  in,  but  only  near,  Urartu,  his  knowledge  of  foreign  geography 
would  not  be  very  accurate.  Mount  Massis  is  17,000  ft.  high. 
There  are  obvious  physical  difficulties,  which  we  need  not  discuss, 
as  our  author  was  evidently  quite  unconscious  of  them. 

Ararat  is  also  identified  with  Corduene  ',  a  district  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Upper  Tigris. 

In  the  tablets  the  ship  is  stopped  by  the  mountain  Nisir, 
sometimes  identified  with  Elburz,  in  Media,  south  of  the  Caspian, 
and  even  supposed  to  be  indicated  here  by  '  mountains  of  Ararat2.' 
In  that  case  Ararat  would  have  a  different  meaning  here  to  that 
which  it  bears  in  the  rest  of  the  O.  T. 

5.  tenth  month,  .  .  .  first  day  :  about  two  months  and  a  half 
after  the  ark  grounded  on  Ararat. 

were  the  tops  of  the  mountains  seen.  Apparently  Ararat 
is  thought  of  as  towering  to  some  height  immensely  above  all 
other  mountains. 

viii.  6-12.  Primitive  Document.      The  raven  and  the  dove. 

In  the  tablets  first  a  dove  and  then  a  swallow  are  sent  out. 
both  of  these  return  because  there  is  no  resting  place  for  them : 
lastly  a  raven  is  sent  out  and  does  not  return,  whereupon  the 
animals  and  men  leave  the  ark. 

6.  forty  days  :  the  period  of  the  rain  mentioned  in  via.  12. 
window.     The  Hebrew  word  used  here  is  the  ordinary  word 

for  '  window,'  and  is  different  from  the  original  of  '  light '  in  the 
Priestly  Document,  vi.  16. 

7.  sent  forth  a  raven:  as  in  the  case  of  the  dove  in  the  next 
verse,  i  to  see  if  the  waters  were  abated.1  Probably  the  ark  is 
thought  of  as  stranded  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  peak,  with  the 
window  in  the  roof,  so  that  Noah  could  see  nothing  but  the  sky. 

1  In  the  Targums,  or  Jewish,  and  the  Peshitto,  or  Christian, 
Aramaic  translations  of  the  O.  T.,  both  belonging  to  the  first  three 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 

2  Tiele  and  Kosters,  '  Ararat,'  Encyclopaedia  Biblica. 


GENESIS  8.  8-13.     JP  149 

and  it   went    forth   to   and  fro,    until  the   waters   were 
dried   up   from  off  the  earth.      And    he   sent  forth   a   8 
dove  from  him,  to  see  if  the  waters  were  abated  from 
off  the  face  of  the  ground ;  but  the  dove  found  no  rest    9 
for  the  sole  of  her  foot,  and  she  returned  unto  him  to  the 
ark,  for  the  waters  were  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth : 
and  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  took  her,  and  brought 
her  in  unto  him  into  the  ark.     And  he  stayed  yet  other  10 
seven  days ;  and  again  he  sent  forth  the  dove  out  of  the 
ark ;  and  the  dove  came  in  to  him  at  eventide ;  and,  lo,  1 1 
in  her  mouth  an  olive  leaf  pluckt  off:  so  Noah  knew  that 
the  waters  were   abated  from  off  the  earth.     And  he  12 
stayed  yet  other  seven  days ;  and  sent  forth  the  dove ; 
and  she  returned  not  again  unto  him  any  more.    [P]  And  13 
it  came  to  pass  in  the  six  hundred  and  first  year,  in  the 

The  raven  was  expected  to  bring  back  some  token  of  the  state  of 
the  ground,  like  the  olive  leaf  of  verse  11. 

went  ...  to  and  fro :  perching  and  feeding  on  the  floating 
carrion. 

8.  The  mention  of  'other  seven  daj-s'  in  verse  10  implies 
a  previous  seven  days  of  waiting.  Of  these  nothing  is  said  in 
our  present  text  ;  but  perhaps  the  copyists  have  accidentally 
omitted  a  statement  that  after  sending  out  the  raven  Noah  waited 
seven  days  before  sending  out  the  dove,  as  he  waited  seven  days 
between  the  two  sendings  of  the  dove.  Or  the  lost  clause  may 
have  referred  to  a  delay  of  seven  days  between  the  cessation  of 
the  rain  and  the  sending  out  of  the  birds.  Thus  in  the  tablets  the 
birds  are  sent  forth  on  the  seventh  day  after  the  stranding  of  the 
ark,  but  no  further  mention  is  made  of  intervals  of  time. 

10.  Cf.  above  on  verse  8. 

11.  an  olive  leaf  pluckt  off:  R.  V.  marg.,  '  a  fresh  olive  leaf.' 
Noah,  knew  that  the  waters  were  abated.     The  olive  tree 

does  not  grow  at  great  heights,  so  that  it  was  evident  that  the 
water  had  fallen  very  considerably  from  its  highest  level  above 
the  top  of  Ararat.  We  are  told  on  the  authority  of  classical 
naturalists  that  the  olive  tree  puts  forth  green  shoots  under  water. 

viii.  i3a  1.  Priestly  Document.      The  waters  dry  up. 

13.  six  hundred  and  first  year,  .  .  .  first  month,  .  .  .  first 

1  As  far  as  *  the  earth.' 


150  GENESIS  8.  14-17.     PJP 

first  month,  the  first  day  of  the  month,  the  waters  were 

dried  up  from  off  the  earth  :  [J]  and  Noah  removed  the 

covering  of  the  ark,  and  looked,  and,  behold,  the  face  of 

14  the  ground  was  dried.    [P]  And  in  the  second  month,  on 

the  seven  and  twentieth  day  of  the  month,  was  the  earth 

dry. 

15,16     And  God  spake  unto  Noah,  saying,  Go  forth  of  the 

ark,    thou,   and  thy  wife,  and  thy  sons,  and  thy  sons' 

17  wives   with  thee.      Bring   forth   with  thee  every  living 

thing  that  is  with  thee  of  all  flesh,  both  fowl,  and  cattle, 

and  every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth; 

day.     Two  months  after  the  tops  of  the  mountains  were  seen, 
verse  5  ;  cf.  on  verse  14. 

viii.  i3b  l.     Primitive  Document.      The  ivaters  dry  up. 

the  covering".     This  was  probably  described  in  the  Primitive 
account  of  the  building  of  the  ark,  which  the  editor  has  omitted. 

viii.  14-19.  Priestly  Document.     Noah,  &c,  leave  the  ark. 

14.  second  month,  .  .  .  seven  and  twentieth  day :  a  month 
and  twenty-six  days  after  '  the  waters  were  dried  up  from  off  the 
earth,'  verse  13.  We  are  now  told  that  'the  earth  was  dr3%' 
The  Hebrew  words  for  'dried  up  *  and  '  dry '  are  different.  The 
meaning  of  the  writer  seems  to  be  that  on  New  Year's  Day  (verse 
13)  the  water  had  disappeared,  leaving  behind  it  a  mass  of  mud, 
which  had  dried  into  solid  earth  by  the  twenty -seventh  day  of  the 
second  month. 

Thus  according  to  the  LXX  of  vii.  'n,  which  dates  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Flood  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  the  second 
month  of  the  previous  year,  the  Flood  occupied  exactly  a  year. 
But  according  to  the  Hebrew  it  occupied  a  year  and  ten  da3?s. 
This  is  sometimes  explained  by  supposing  that  the  year  in  the 
latter  case  was  a  lunar  year,  i.  e.  about  354  days,  and  that  the 
extra  ten  days,  making  about  364  days,  were  intended  to  indicate 
that  the  period  was  a  solar  year.  But  it  is  possible  that  statistics 
representing  different  views  of  the  duration  of  the  Flood  have 
been  combined  ;  or  that  the  original  Priestly  writer  held  one  view 
and  the  editor  another,  and  that  the  editor  has  corrected  some 
statements  and  not  others.     Cf.  on  vii.  11,  and  viii.  4. 

17.  creeping    thing   that   creepeth    ...    be  fruitful,  and 

1  From  'and  Noah.' 


GENESIS  8.  18-21.     Pj  151 

that  they  may  breed  abundantly  in  the  earth,  and  be 
fruitful,  and  multiply  upon  the  earth.     And  Noah  went  18 
forth,  and  his  sons,  and  his  wife,  and  his  sons'  wives  with 
him :  every  beast,  every  creeping  thing,  and  every  fowl,  19 
whatsoever  moveth  upon  the  earth,  after  their  families, 
went  forth  out  of  the  ark.     [J]  And   Noah  builded  an  20 
altar  unto  the  Lord  j  and  took  of  every  clean  beast,  and 
of  every  clean  fowl,  and  offered  burnt  offerings  on  the 
altar.     And  the  Lord  smelled  the  sweet  savour  j  and  the  21 

multiply :  characteristic  terms  of  the  Priestly  Document ;  cf.  i.  22, 
24  ff.,  28. 

19.  after  their  families:  another  characteristic  phrase  of  this 
writer,  commonly  used  of  the  clans  of  Israel,  &c.  For  the 
animals  this  writer  generally  uses  'after  their  kind/  vi.  20,  &c, 
to  express  the  same  idea,  i.  e.  that  the  pairs  of  each  kind,  and 
perhaps  also  larger  groups  of  more  or  less  similar  animals,  kept 
together. 

viii.  20-22.  Primitive  Document.  Nook's  sacrifice  and  Yahweh's 
promise. 

20.  Noah  builded  an  altar  .  .  .  and  offered  burnt  offering's 
on  the  altar.  In  this  document  the  patriarchs  constantly  build 
altars  and  offer  sacrifices  ;  but  the  Priestly  writer  records  no  altars 
or  sacrifices  before  the  time  of  Moses,  because,  according  to  his 
theory,  they  were  first  revealed  to  the  Lawgiver. 

of  every  clean  beast,  &c.  Cf.  vii.  2  f.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Priestly  writer's  limitation  of  the  number  in  every  case  to 
two  rendered  sacrifice  impossible  without  preventing  the  propaga- 
tion and  therefore  the  continuance  of  the  kind  of  animal  sacrificed. 

burnt  offerings :  sacrifices  in  which  the  whole  of  the  victims 
were  consumed  upon  the  altar,  and  thus  offered  to  God,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  more  ordinary  sacrifices  of  which  only  parts 
were  burnt,  and  the  rest  eaten  by  the  offerer  and  his  friends. 
The  burnt  offering  was  thus  a  more  emphatic  expression  of 
gratitude  or  form  of  supplication.  In  the  tablets  and  other 
primitive  Flood  traditions  the  hero  offers  sacrifice  after  leaving 
his  ark  or  ship. 

21.  the  LORD  smelled  the  sweet  savour.  The  phrase  is 
a  survival  of  the  crude  primitive  notion  that  the  gods  found 
a  physical  pleasure  in  the  smell  of  the  smoke  of  a  burning 
sacrifice ;  but  the  use  of  the  phrase  no  more  implies  that  the 
authors  of  Genesis  held  this  belief  than  the  fact  that  we  call  our 
sacred  day  Sunday  implies  that  we  worship  the  sun. 


152  GENESIS  8.  22— 9.  2.     JP 

Lord  said  in  his  heart,  I  will  not  again  curse  tne  ground 
any  more  for  man's  sake,  for  that  the  imagination  of 
man's  heart  is  evil  from  his  youth ;  neither  will  I  again 
22  smite  any  more  every  thing  living,  as  I  have  done.  While 
the  earth  remaineth,  seedtime  and  harvest,  and  cold  and 
heat,  and  summer  and  winter,  and  day  and  night  shall 

9  not  cease.  [P]  And  God  blessed  Noah  and  his  sons,  and 
said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish 

2  the  earth.  And  the  fear  of  you  and  the  dread  of  you 
shall  be  upon  every  beast  of  the  earth,  and  upon  every 

In  the  tablets  Tsitnapishtim  offers  a  sacrifice  on  the  highest 
peak  of  the  mountain  ;  the  gods  smell  the  pleasant  odour,  and 
flock  round  the  offerer  like  flies. 

the  LOBD  said  in  his  heart,  i.  e.  resolved.  The  naivete  of  the 
ancient  tradition  is  illustrated  by  the  absence  of  any  explanation 
of  the  way  in  which  the  thoughts  of  Yahweh  became  known  to 
men. 

I  will  not  again  curse  the  ground.  Cf.  iii.  17,  iv.  11,  12,  and 
on  ix.  15.  On  three  successive  occasions  Yahweh  had  changed 
the  state  of  the  c  ground,'  i.  e.  the  physical  circumstances  of  human 
life,  for  the  worse,  in  punishment  of  man's  sin,  but  universal 
chastisement  of  the  whole  race  will  not  be  again  inflicted.  The 
idea  seems  to  be  in  the  writer's  mind  that  the  human  life  had 
already  become  so  miserable  and  precarious  that  any  further 
change  for  the  worse  could  only  mean  the  annihilation  of  the 
race.     Cf.  Isa.  liv.  9. 

for  man's  sake,  for  that  the  imagination  of  man's  heart 
is  evil  from  his  youth.  The  life-long  depravity  of  man  would 
still  continue  to  provoke  and  justify  God's  wrath  ;  but  He  would 
forbear  in  spite  of  their  sin.  Yahweh  had  done  all  that  He  could 
by  way  of  chastisement  to  educate  man  to  a  higher  morality,  and 
had  failed  ;  now  He  holds  His  hand  rather  than  destroy  His 
creation  altogether.  The  writer  implies  that  the  descendants  of 
Noah  will  be  no  better  than  their  predecessors  (cf.  vi.  5),  and 
proceeds  to  give  a  striking  example  of  their  depravity  in  the 
incident  of  Noah's  drunkenness  and  its  sequel. 

R.  V.  marg.,  '  for  the  imagination,'  &c,  expresses  the  same 
ideas  rather  more  explicitly. 

22.  The  form  of  this  verse  is  poetical  in  the  Hebrew. 

ix.  1 -1 7.  Priestly  Document.  The  Divine  Blessing  and  Cove- 
nant. 


GENESIS  9.  3-1°.     P  153 

fowl  of  the  air  ;  with  all  wherewith  the  ground  teemeth, 
and  all  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  into  your  hand  are  they 
delivered.     Every  moving  thing  that  liveth  shall  be  food   3 
for  you ;  as  the  green  herb  have  I  given  you  all.     But   4 
flesh  with  the  life  thereof,  which  is  the  blood  thereof, 
shall  ye  not  eat.     And  surely  your  blood,  the  blood  of  5 
your  lives,  will  I  require ;  at  the  hand  of  every  beast  will 
I  require  it :  and  at  the  hand  of  man,  even  at  the  hand 
of  every  man's  brother,  will  I  require  the  life  of  man. 
Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be   6 
shed  :  for  in  the  image  of  God  made  he  man.     And  you,    7 
be  ye  fruitful,  and  multiply ;  bring  forth  abundantly  in 
the  earth,  and  multiply  therein. 

And  God  spake  unto  Noah,  and  to  his  sons  with  him,  8 
saying,  And  I,  behold,  I  establish  my  covenant  with  you,  9 
and  with  your  seed  after  you ;  and  with  every  living  10 
creature  that  is  with  you,  the  fowl,  the  cattle,  and  every 

1-3.  Closely  parallel  to  i.  28,  29. 

3.  Every  moving"  thing  that  liveth  shall  be  food  for  you. 
In  i.  29  men  were  limited  to  vegetable  food,  now  they  are  allowed 
to  eat  the  flesh  of  animals. 

4.  the  life  .  .  .  the  blood  .  .  .  shall  ye  not  eat.  Cf.  Lev. 
xvii.  11.  The  loss  of  the  blood  of  an  animal  was  a  most  familiar 
and  striking  form  of  death  ;  the  blood  was  regarded  as  the  seat  of 
life,  and  thus  became  its  symbol.  Moreover,  the  blood  was  part  of 
God's  share  of  the  sacrifice,  and  in  early  times  all  slajnng  of  cattle 
and  sheep,  &c,  for  food  took  the  form  of  a  sacrifice.  Hence  the 
blood  was  forbidden  to  man,  because  it  was  a  sacred  thing  re- 
served for  God.  We  see  that  the  eating  of  blood  was  forbidden 
in  ancient  Israel  from  the  incident  in  1  Sam.  xiv.  17-35?  where 
Saul  is  told,  'Behold,  the  people  sin  against  Yahweh^in  that  they 
eat  with  the  blood.'  There  is  no  parallel  to  ix.  1-7  in  the  Baby- 
lonian versions  of  the  Flood  stoiy. 

6.  in  the  image  of  God.     Cf.  i.  27. 

9.  covenant.     Cf.  vi.  18. 

10.  and  with  every  living-  creature.  The  text  merely  means 
that  the  covenant  was  a  gracious  declaration  of  God's  beneficent 
purpose  to  animals  as  well  as  men  ;  there  is  no  idea  of  any  con- 
scious relation  of  the  animals  to  God. 


154  GENESIS  9.  ir-15.     P 

beast  of  the  earth  with  you  ;  of  all  that  go  out  of  the  ark, 

11  even  every  beast  of  the  earth.  And  I  will  establish  my 
covenant  with  you ;  neither  shall  all  flesh  be  cut  off  any 
more  by  the  waters  of  the  flood ;  neither  shall  there  any 

12  more  be  a  flood  to  destroy  the  earth.  And  God  said, 
This  is  the  token  of  the  covenant  which  I  make  between 
me  and  you  and  every  living  creature  that  is  with  you, 

13  for  perpetual  generations  :  I  do  set  my  bow  in  the  cloud, 
and  it  shall  be  for  a  token  of  a  covenant  between  me 

14  and  the  earth.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  I  bring 
a  cloud  over  the  earth,  that  the  bow  shall  be  seen  in 

15  the  cloud,  and  I  will  remember  my  covenant,  which  is 

13.  I  do  set:  R.  V.  marg.,  '  I  have  set.'  There  is  no  practical 
difference. 

my  bow  in  the  cloud:  the  rainbow;  cf.  Ezek.  i.  28.  The 
paragraph  in  the  Babylonian  story  which  corresponds  in  position 
to  this  episode  of  the  rainbow  does  not  seem  to  contain  this 
feature.  The  '  Lady  of  the  Gods/  i.  e.  the  goddess  Ishtar, 
'raises  on  high  the  great  neck  ornament1,'  not,  however,  to  place 
it  in  the  sky  as  a  token  of  a  covenant  or  Divine  promise,  but  in 
order  to  emphasize  an  oath  which  she  takes 2.  It  is  also  stated 
that  the  phrase  '  bow  of  the  deluge '  is  found  in  a  Irymn  of  the 
Sumerians,  the  people  inhabiting  the  Euphrates  valley  before 
the  Babylonians.  In  the  Lithuanian  deluge  story  the  rainbow 
appears  to  comfort  the  survivors  3.  The  plain  intention  of  the 
narrative  is  that  the  rainbow  did  not  exist  before  the  Deluge,  and 
was  created  at  this  time. 

14.  I  will  remember  my  covenant.  Otherwise  it  seems  God 
might  have  forgotten.  This  idea  is  more  primitive  than  the  theo- 
logy of  the  Priestly  writer,  and  is  no  doubt  reproduced  from 
some  older  version  of  the  story,  without  reflection  upon  what  is 
implied  by  the  language  used.  In  the  tablets  the  oath  of  Ishtar, 
referred  to  in  the  previous  note,  is  that  she  will  never  forget  the 
days  of  the  Flood.     Then  the  other  gods  remonstrate  with  Bel  for 


1  So  Gunkel,  Jensen,  &c.  Sayce  has  '  bow '  for  '  great  neck 
ornament,'  perhaps  through  the  natural  expectation  of  finding  a 
parallel  to  the  Biblical  narrative. 

2  See  next  note. 

3  Patrick,  '  Rainbow  ' ;  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 


GENESIS  9.  16-20.     PJ  155 

between  me  and  you  and  every  living  creature  of  all 
flesh  •  and  the  waters  shall  no  more  become  a  flood  to 
destroy  all  flesh.  And  the  bow  shall  be  in  the  cloud ;  16 
and  I  will  look  upon  it,  that  I  may  remember  the  ever- 
lasting covenant  between  God  and  every  living  creature 
of  all  flesh  that  is  upon  the  earth.  And  God  said  unto  17 
Noah,  This  is  the  token  of  the  covenant  which  I  have 
established  between  me  and  all  flesh  that  is  upon  the 
earth. 

[J]  And  the  sons  of  Noah,  that  went  forth  of  the  ark,  18 
were  Shem,  and  Ham,  and  Japheth  :  and  Ham  is  the 
father  of  Canaan.     These  three  were  the  sons  of  Noah  :  19 
and  of  these  was  the  whole  earth  overspread. 

And  Noah  began  to  be  an  husbandman,  and  planted  20 

causing  the  Flood,  and  suggest  that  in  future  individual  sinners 
should  be  punished  by  wild  beasts  or  famine. 

16,  17.  An  unnecessary  repetition  of  12,  14,  15,  probably  due 
to  unskilful  editing. 

ix.  18-27.     The  Curse  of  Canaan  (J). 

ix.  18,  19.  Noah  and  his  family  leave  the  ark  and  people  the 
earth. 

ix.  20-24.  Noah  plants  a  vine3rard  and  becomes  drunk,  and 
exposes  himself.  Ham  observes  him,  but  Shem  and  Japheth 
cover  him  without  looking. 

ix.  25-27.  Noah  curses  Canaan  and  blesses  Japheth  and  Shem. 

Source.  These  verses  are  taken  from  the  Primitive  Document, 
but  we  cannot  be  certain  that  the  story  of  Noah's  planting  the 
vine  had  any  original  connexion  with  the  Flood.  It  is  an  account 
of  a  step  in  civilization  parallel  to  that  of  the  inventions  of  the 
sons  of  Lamech  in  iv.  19,  24.  and,  as  in  iv,  the  account  ends  with 
an  oracular  poem.  This  poem,  however,  does  not  seem  to  have 
belonged  originally  to  the  story  ;  in  it  the  sons  of  Noah  are 
Canaan,  Japheth,  and  Shem,  and  not  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth, 
as  elsewhere.  The  editor  noticed  this  discrepancy  and  tried  to 
remedy  it,  making  Canaan  the  son  of  Ham,  verses  18  and  22. 

20.  Noah  began  to  be  an  husbandman,  &c.  As  agriculture 
was  the  ordinary  mode  of  life   we   should    suppose   that   Noah 


156  GENESIS  9.  21-25.     J 

21  a  vineyard  :  and  he  drank  of  the  wine,  and  was  drunken ; 

22  and  he  was  uncovered  within  his  tent.  And  Ham,  the 
father  of  Canaan,  saw  the  nakedness  of  his  father,  and 

23  told  his  two  brethren  without.  And  Shem  and  Japheth 
took  a  garment,  and  laid  it  upon  both  their  shoulders, 
and  went  backward,  and  covered  the  nakedness  of  their 
father  •  and  their  faces  were  backward,  and  they  saw  not 

24  their  father's  nakedness.  And  Noah  awoke  from  his 
wine,  and  knew  what  his  youngest  son  had  done  unto 

25  him.     And  he  said, 

Cursed  be  Canaan ; 

A  servant  of  servants  shall  he  be  unto  his  brethren. 

always  had  been  an  husbandman.  We  should  translate  :  'And  Noah 
the  husbandman  was  the  first  to  plant  a  vine3rard.1 

21.  was  drunken.  Probably  the  writer  did  not  mean  to  imply 
that  Noah  was  to  blame.  Indeed,  as  he  had  never  drunk  wine 
before  he  could  not  know  what  its  effect  would  be. 

24.  his  youngest  son.  The  R.  V.  marg.  '  younger '  is  not 
a  possible  meaning  where  one  of  three  is  concerned.  Elsewhere, 
both  in  the  Primitive x  and  the  Priestly  2  Document,  Ham  is  the 
second  son,  an  indication  that  this  episode  was  not  originally  part 
of  the  Flood  story. 

had  done.  In  the  story  as  it  stands  Ham  does  not  seem  to 
have  '  done '  anything  wrong.  He  had  seen  what  he  could  not 
help  seeing,  and  had  told  his  brethren.  Probably  a  portion  of  the 
story  has  been  omitted. 

25.  Cursed  be  Canaan.  The  explanation  that  the  guilty 
Ham  was  the  father  of  Canaan  is  not  adequate.  This  short  poem, 
the  original  meaning  of  which  is  considered  below,  cannot 
have  been  the  original  close  of  the  story.  The  compiler  of 
the  Primitive  Document  may  have  felt  that  the  filial  conduct  of 
Shem  and  Japheth  would  explain  the  blessings  upon  them  ;  and 
then  did  the  best  he  could  to  explain  the  occurrence  of  Canaan 
instead  of  Ham. 

A  servant  of  servants  shall  he  be  unto  his  brethren : 
rather  'a  slave  of  slaves.'  The  meaning  is  that  the  peoples  denoted 
by  '  Canaan '  should  be  politically  subject  to  those  denoted  by 
'  Shem  and  Japheth.'  Before  the  Civil  War  in  America  this  verse 
was  freely  used  by  clergymen  and  others  in  the  Southern  States 

1  Gen.  ix.  18.  2  Gen.  v.  32,  vi.  10,  &c. 


GENESIS  9.  26, 27.     J  157 

And  he  said,  26 

Blessed  be  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Shem  ; 
And  let  Canaan  be  his  servant. 

God  enlarge  Japheth,  27 

And  let  him  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem ; 
And  let  Canaan  be  his  servant. 

to  justify  slavery,  on  the  ground  that  the  negroes  were  the  de- 
scendants of  Ham— a  noteworthy  example  of  the  danger  of  a 
strained  literalism  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Scripture. 

26.  Blessed  be  the  LORD,  the  God  of  Shem.  We  should 
expect  the  blessing  to  be  on  Shem  himself,  as  in  the  next  verse  on 
Japheth.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  original  reading  was 
'  Blessed  of  Yahweh  be  Shem/ 

26,  27.  his  servant :  better,  as  R.  V.  marg.,  '  their  servant.' 

27.  God:  not  Yahweh,  because  Yahweh  is  especially  the  'God 
of  Shem,'  and  not  of  Japheth. 

enlarge  Japheth.  The  Hebrew yapht  leyepheth  contains  one 
of  these  plays  upon  words  of  which  O.  T.  writers  were  fond. 
The  phrase  means,  '  May  God  give  the  Japhethic  peoples  wide 
dominions.' 

And  let  him  (R.  V.  marg.,  'he  shall')  dwell  in  the  tents 
of  Shem.  The  'him '  or  '  he '  has  been  understood  to  mean  God, 
i.  e.  '  Let  Him  give  wide  dominions  to  Japheth,  but  let  Him 
dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem,'  i.  e.  '  Let  Japheth  enjoy  political 
supremacy,  but  let  Shem  be  pre-eminent  for  spiritual  privi- 
leges,' but  the  primitive  theology  held  that  political  and  reli- 
gious superiority  went  hand-in- hand.  It  is  more  probable  that 
the  '  him '  or  <  he '  is  Japheth  ;  but  even  so,  the  meaning  of  the 
clause  is  not  clear.  The  word  •  dwell ' '  means  *  dwell  per- 
manently.' In  Ps.  lxxviii.  55  Israel  '  dwells  in  the  tents '  of  the 
enemies  who  have  been  driven  out,  and  the  passage  here  is  often 
taken  to  mean  that  Japheth  would  dispossess  Shem  of  a  portion 
of  its  territory  ;  but  such  an  idea  seems  out  of  place  in  a  poem 
which  is  partly  a  blessing  on  Shem.  Somewhat  similar  phrases 
are  used  in  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  10,  cxx.  5  for  dwelling  in  friendship  with 
an  ally.  Hence  it  is  sometimes  said  that  '  Dwelling  in  the  tents 
of  Shem  does  not  mean  conquest,  but  points  to  the  friendly  rela- 
tions that  should  exist  between  the  Semitic  and  Japhethic  races  ; 
the  latter  participating  in  the  honour  paid  the  former,  and  sharing 
the  religious  privileges  enjoyed  by  them  2.' 

25-27.  In  considering  this  oracle  we  may  regard  it  as  an  ancient 
poem  on  the  relations  of  Canaan,  Shem,  and  Japheth,  which  had 

1  Shakhen,  a  Spurrell  on  this  passage. 


158  GENESIS  9.  28—10.  r.     P 

28  [P]  And  Ncah  lived  after  the  flood  three  hundred  and 

29  fifty  years.     And  all  the  days  of  Noah  were  nine  hundred 
and  fifty  years  :  and  he  died. 

10       Now  these  are  the  generations  of  the  sons  of  Noah, 

no  original  connexion  either  with  the  stories  about  Noah  or  the 
elaborate  genealogies  in  chapter  x,  so  that  the  meaning  of  the 
names  is  not  determined  either  by  the  stories  or  the  genealogies. 
Shem  here  is  a  title  or  name  of  Israel,  otherwise  no  Israelite 
writer  would  state  that  Yahweh  was  '  the  God  of  Shem,'  or 
specially  connect  Yahweh  with  Shem  as  distinguished  from 
Japheth.  Canaan  is  obviously  the  Canaanites  whom  Israel  sub- 
dued ;  so  far  all  is  clear.  It  is  difficult  to  recognize  Japheth  ; 
in  x.  1-5  he  is  the  ancestor  of  the  peoples  to  the  north  and 
west  of  Israel,  but  this  may  be  merely  a  late  theory,  quite  un- 
known to  primitive  tradition.  Nor  should  we  be  helped  in  the 
interpretation  of  this  passage  by  an  identification  with  the  Titan 
Iapetus  of  Greek  mythology,  the  son  of  Earth  and  Heaven,  and 
the  father  of  mankind.  After  Gen.  x  Japheth  is  never  men- 
tioned again  except  in  passages  of  Chronicles  borrowed  from 
Genesis.  If  we  were  controlled  by  x.  1-5,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  historical  connexion  for  verse  27  before  the  Greek  conquest 
of  Syria  in  the  fourth  century  b.  c.  ;  or  it  might  be  barely  possible 
to  see  in  these  lines  an  expression  of  the  vague  goodwill  which 
people  who  hate  their  neighbours  sometimes  feel  for  far-off,  un- 
known strangers.  But  if,  as  seems  probable,  we  may  put  aside  x. 
1-5,  we  might  understand  Japheth  to  be  the  intruding  Philistines, 
or  the  friendly  Phoenicians,  according  to  the  interpretation  we 
give  to  i  dwell  in  the  tents/ 

Or,  again,  the  lines  have  the  ring  of  an  Israelite  battle-cry,  at 
a  time  when  Israel  was  in  the  full  tide  of  triumphant  invasion  of 
some  Canaanite  territory ;  '  Japheth  '  seems  to  be  their  ally.  If 
we  could,  with  an  increasing  number  of  scholars,  identify  the 
Habiri  of  the  Amarna  tablets  with  Israel,  these  Habiri  invade  the 
country  in  alliance  with  native  and  other  princes  ;  and  here, 
perhaps,  with  fuller  knowledge  we  might  find  Japheth. 

ix.  28,  29.     The  Last  Days  of  Noah  (P). 

Source.  This  is  the  conclusion  of  the  Priestly  account  of  the 
Flood.  In  the  Babylonian  story  the  hero  of  the  Flood,  like 
Enoch,  does  not  die,  but  is  translated  to  live  among  the  gods. 

x.  The  Descent  of  the  Nations  from  the  Sons  of  Noah 
(J  and  P). 

This  chapter  is  compiled  from  the  Primitive  and  the  Priestly 
Documents.     The  editor  has  here,  as  elsewhere,  taken  the  Priestly 


GENESIS  10.  i.     P  i59 

Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth  :  and  unto  them  were  sons  born 
after  the  flood. 

Document  as  a  framework,  and  inserted  such  portions  of  the 
Primitive  Document  as  were  neither  mere  repetitions  nor  glaring 
contradictions.  The  genealogical  formula  is  merely  a  picturesque 
conventional  fashion  of  expressing  geographical  and  political 
relationships :  though  the  genealogies  may  have  been  understood 
literally  by  some  readers.  In  the  case  of  such  a  set  of  geogra- 
phical statistics,  a  reader  who  thought  he  had  further  or  more 
correct  information  would  make  additions  or  corrections  in  the 
margin,  and  some  of  these  would  afterwards  be  copied  into  the 
text.  Hence  we  may  expect  to  find  here  not  only  extracts  from 
the  original  sources,  and  editorial  matter,  but  also  other  addi- 
tions and  modifications.  There  seem  to  be  some  traces  of  these 
discernible  in  verses  18,  19,  and  24 \ 

Seeing  that  Shem  and  Japheth  are  never  mentioned  after  this 
chapter  except  in  1  Chron.  i,  which  is  borrowed  from  here,  there 
seems  no  evidence  that  the  division  of  the  peoples  between  Shem, 
Ham,  and  Japheth,  or  even  into  three  sections,  is  part  of  primitive 
Israelite  tradition.  Reflection  on  the  story  of  the  Flood  showed 
that  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth  must  have  been  descended  from 
Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth  ;  and  a  division  was  accordingly  made 
according  to  current  theories  of  historical  criticism.  Shem  2  was 
specially  connected  by  ancient  tradition  with  Israel,  and  so  the 
nations  with  whom  Israel  recognized  any  connexion  were  reckoned 
children  of  Shem.  Similarly  Ham  was  a  name  of  Egypt,  and  the 
peoples  which  seemed  to  form  a  group  with  Egypt  were  the 
children  of  Ham.  The  other  peoples  were  then  obviously  the 
children  of  Japheth.  Many  of  the  names  are  obscure,  and  possibly 
some  passages  have  been  spoiled  in  course  of  copying  ;  but  the 
general  scheme  seems  to  be  roughly  as  follows.  In  the  Priestly 
Document  Shem  occupies  Western  Asia,  east  of  Palestine, 
including  parts  of  Arabia  ;  Ham  occupies  North-East  Africa, 
Palestine,  and  perhaps  parts  of  Arabia  ;  Japheth  occupies  Asia 
Minor  and  regions  eastward  and  westward  of  Asia  Minor. 

The  scheme  of  the  Primitive  Document  is  not  complete,  parts 
having  been  omitted  to  make  room  for  the  corresponding  sections 
of  the  other  document. 

Obviously  the  chapter  does  not  include  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  but  only  those  with  whom  its  authors  were  acquainted. 
Some  of  the  peoples  most  closely  connected  with  Israel,  e.  g. 
Edom,  Moab,  and  Amnion,  are  omitted  because  they  were  sup- 
posed to  have  originated  at  a  later  date  than  the  nations  enumerated 
in  this  chapter. 

1  See  notes  on  these  verses.  2  See  notes  on  ix.  26  f . 


160  GENESIS  10.  2,  3.     P 

2  The  sons  of  Japheth ;  Gomer,  and  Magog,  and  Madai, 

3  and  Javan,  and  Tubal,  and  Meshech,  and  Tiras.     And 
the  sons  of  Gomer;   Ashkenaz,  and  Riphath,  and  To 

There  is  a  marked  resemblance  between  several  of  the 
groups  of  names  in  the  Priestly  Document  and  similar  lists  in 
Ezekiel. 

x.  1-7.  Priestly  Document.  The  Sons  of  Japheth  and  the  Sons 
of  Ham. 

1.  these  are  the  generations.  The  heading  of  a  new  section 
of  this  document ;  see  on  ii.  4. 

and  unto  them  were  sons  born  after  the  flood.  Perhaps 
a  fragment  of  the  Primitive  Document ;  cf.  verses  21,  25. 

2.  Gomer:  the  Cimmerians  of  the  Greek,  the  Gimirra  of  Assyrian 
inscriptions,  an  Aryan  people  of  Southern  Russia,  who  invaded 
Western  Asia  in  the  seventh  century  b.  c,  and  occupied  at  different 
times  various  districts  from  Persia  to  Phrygia.  Gomer  is  also 
mentioned  in  the  parallel  passage  in  1  Chron.  i.  5,  6,  and  appears  in 
Ezek.  xxxviii.  1-6  together  with  Meshech,  Tubal,  and  the  house 
of  Togarmah  as  part  of  the  army  of  Gog,  of  the  land  of  Magog. 
See  also  on  verses  3,  6. 

Magog":  not  certainly  identified';  from  its  proximity  to  Gomer 
(cf.  previous  note)  it  is  probably  one  of  the  Cimmerian  settlements 
in  Asia  Minor.  Also  mentioned  1  Chron.  i.  5  ;  in  Ezek.  xxxviii. 
2,  xxxix.  6,  '  Gog,  of  the  land  of  Magog,'  sometimes  interpreted 
to  mean  Gyges  of  Lydia,  appears  as  the  leader  of  the  enemies  of 
Israel. 

Madai:  the  Medes,  also  1  Chron.  i.  5. 

Javan  :  the  Ionians  or  Greeks,  commonly  spoken  of  under  this 
name  in  the  O.  T.  The  Greeks  were  settled  not  only  in  Greece 
and  the  islands  of  the  Levant,  but  along  the  coasts  of  Asia 
Minor. 

Tubal,  and  Meshech,  who  usually  appear  together,  are  iden- 
tified with  the  Tibarenians  and  Moschians  who  occupied  territory 
to  the  south-east  of  the  Black  Sea.     Cf.  above  on  Gomer. 

Tiras:  often  identified  with  a  seafaring  people  known  to  the 
Egyptians  as  Tuntsa,  and  to  the  Greeks  as  Turseni.  who  occupied 
some  of  the  coasts  and  islands  of  the  Aegaean.  Others  take  it  to  be 
a  form  of  Tarshish,  verse  4.  Tiras  is  only  mentioned  here  and 
1  Chron.  i.  5. 

3.  sons  of  Gomer :  i.  e.  subdivisions  of  the  people  Gomer,  or 
perhaps  also  peoples  subject  to  Gomer,  or  both. 

Ashkenaz :  probably  a  people  occupying  part  of  Armenia. 
It  is  mentioned  in  Jer.  Ii.  27  in  connexion  with  Ararat  and 
Minni,  elsewhere  only  1  Chron.  i.  6. 

Riphath :    in  1  Chron.  i.  6  Diphath  ;  not  identified,  but  pro- 


GENESIS  10.  4-6.     P  161 

garmah.     And  the  sons  of  Javan  ;  Elishah,  and  Tarshish,  4 
Kittim,  and  Dodanim.     Of  these  were  the  isles  of  the  5 
nations   divided    in   their   lands,    every  one    after    his 
tongue ;   after  their  families,  in  their  nations. 
And  the  sons  of  Ham  ;  Cush,  and  Mizraim,  and  Put,  and  6 


babl}r  a  people  or  district  of  Asia  Minor.     The  name  only  occurs 
in  these  two  passages. 

Togarmah  :  probably  a  district  of  Armenia.  In  Ezek.  xxvii. 
14  the  '  house  of  Togarmah '  trade  with  Tyre  with  <  horses,  war- 
horses,  and  mules,'  and  in  Ezek.  xxxviii.  6  we  read  of  '  the  house 
of  Togarmah,  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  north,  and  all  his 
hordes '  ;  cf.  above  on  Gomer.  Togarmah  is  only  mentioned 
elsewhere  in  1  Chron.  i.  6. 

4.  sons  of  Javan.  The  following  four  names  need  not  all  be 
actual  Greek  peoples,  but  simply  peoples  whom  the  Israelites 
classed  geographically  or  politically  with  the  Greeks.  Similarly 
i_Frank'  in  the  East  to-day  means  not  merely  French,  but  any 
Western  European. 

ElishE.li :  not  identified,  sometimes  supposed  to  be  Sicily  and 
South  Italy,  where  there  were  many  Greek  colonies  ;  and  some- 
times, less  probably,  Carthage.  In  Ezek.  xxvii.  7  we  read  of 
'blue  and  purple '  from  the  'isles'  or  coasts  of  Elishah. 

Tarshish :  usually  identified  with  Tartessus,  a  Phoenician 
colony  in  Southern  Spain  ;  frequently  mentioned  in  the  O.  T. 
as  a  great  and  distant  trade  resort  reached  by  sea  from 
Palestine,  e.  g.  Jonah  i.  3  from  Joppa. 

Kittim  :  Cyprus,  so  frequently  in  the  O.  T. 

Dodanim  should  be  corrected  to  Rodanim,  the  form  found  in 
1  Chron.  i.  7  Rhodes.  In  Ezek.  xxvii.  15  the  Septuagint  has 
Rhodians  for  the  •  Dedan  '  of  the  Hebrew  text ;  otherwise  they 
are  not  mentioned  in  the  O.  T. 

5.  Of  these  :  the  four  sons  of  Javan  just  enumerated. 
isles:  R.V.  marg.  •  coastlands  ' 

every  one  after  his  tongue :  the  Priestly  Document  ignores 
the  story  of  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  the  Tower  of  Babel. 

6.  Ham  :  used  in  Ps.  cv.  23,  27.  &c,  for  Egypt. 

Cush :  usually  Ethiopia,  and  probably  so  here,  but  cf.  on 
1  sons  of  Cush '  and  on  verse  8. 

Mizraim  :  Egypt  as  usually. 

Put :  not  certainly  known  ;  often  identified  with  the  Punt  of 
the  Egyptian  inscriptions,  which  may  be  the  African  coast  of  the 
Red  Sea.  '  Cush  and  Put '  appear  in  Jer.  xlvi.  9,  and  in  Ezek.  xxx. 
5,  amongst  the  warriors  of  Egypt,  and  in  Ezek.  xxxviii.  5  amongst 

M 


162  GENESIS  10.  7,  S.     PJ 

7  Canaan.     And  the  sons  of  Cush ;  Seba,  and  Havilah, 
and  Sabtah,  and  Raamah,  and  Sabteca  :  and  the  sons 

8  of  Raamah;  Sheba,  and  Dedan.     [J]  And  Cush  begat 

the  auxiliaries  of  Gog.      '  Put '  is  amongst  the  auxiliaries  of  Egypt 
in  Nahum  iii.  9,  and  amongst  those  of  Tyre  in  Ezek.  xxvii.  10. 

7.  the  sons  of  Cush.  Although  some  of  the  names  in  the 
following  list  cannot  be  certainly  identified,  it  is  clear  that  the 
territories  mentioned  here  as  dependent  on  Cush  or  Ethiopia 
belong  to  East  Africa  and  South- West  Arabia.  These  two  districts 
have  usually  been  closely  connected.  The  view  that  Nimrod, 
verse  8,  was  a  son  of  Cush  is  quite  unconnected  with  the  scheme 
of  the  Priestly  Document,  and  refers  to  a  different  Cush. 

Seba :  not  certainly  known,  sometimes  placed  in  or  near 
Egypt,  sometimes  in  South  Arabia.  Seba  is  connected  with 
Egypt  and  Ethiopia  in  Isa.  xliii.  3  and  xlv.  14,  and  with  Sheba  in 
Ps.  lxxii.  10. 

Havilah:  either  in  North-East  Africa  or  in  Arabia,  cf.  ii.  11. 
In  the  Primitive  Document,  verse  29,  Havilah,  probably  the  same 
district  or  people,  is  reckoned  among  the  descendants  of  Shem. 

Sabtah  :  unknown,  doubtless  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
other  'sons  of  Cush,'  only  mentioned  elsewhere  1  Chron.  i.  9. 

Raamah.  An  inscription  in  the  South-West  of  Arabia  seems 
to  place  Raamah  in  that  district.  The  name  only  occurs  elsewhere 
1  Chron.  i.  9,  and  Ezek.  xxvii.  22,  '  the  merchants  of  Sheba  and 
Raamah.' 

Sabteca,  as  for  Sabtah  above. 

Sheba,  the  important  and  famous  state  in  Southern  Arabia, 
whose  people  are  often  spoken  of  as  the  Sabaeans ;  often 
mentioned  in  the  O.  T.,  e.g.  the  visit  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba, 
1  Kings  x;  'the  merchants  of  Sheba,'  Ezek.  xxvii.  22,  23. 
'  Sheba  and  Dedan '  are  coupled  in  Ezek.  xxxviii.  13,  as  here.  In 
the  Primitive  Document,  verse  28,  Sheba  is  reckoned  among  the 
descendants  of  Shem ;  while  yet  another  genealogy,  of  uncertain 
origin x,  makes  Sheba  and  Dedan  a  descendant  of  Abraham  and 
Keturah. 

Dedan,  a  tribe  of  Southern  Arabia,  often  referred  to  as 
traders  2.      Cf.  above  on  Sheba. 

x.  8-19.  Primitive  Document.  Nimrod  and  the  early  Babylo- 
nian and  Assyrian  empires.  The  descendants  of  Misraim  and  of 
Canaan. 

8.  Cush  beg"at  Bimrod:   a   different  Cush   from    that  in   the 

1  See  on  Gen.  xxv.  3. 

2  Isa.  xxi.  13;  Jer.  xxv.  23,  xlix.  8;  Ezek.  xxv.  13,  xxvii.  15,  20, 
xxxviii.  13. 


GENESIS  10.  9-11.     J  163 

Nimrod  :  he  began  to  be  a  mighty  one  in  the  earth.     He  9 
was  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord  :  wherefore  it  is  said, 
Like  Nimrod  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord.    And  the  10 
beginning  of  his  kingdom  was  Babel,  and  Erech,  and 
Accad,  and  Calneh,  in  the  land  of  Shinar.     Out  of  that  n 

previous  paragraph.  This  is  not  Ethiopia,  but  a  district  to  the 
east  of  Babylonia,  which  was  the  original  home  of  one  of 
the  early  Babylonian  dynasties. 

Nimrod  :  only  elsewhere  in  the  parallel  passage  1  Chron.  i.  10, 
and  in  Mic.  v.  6,  where  '  the  land  of  Nimrod'  is  closely  connected 
with  Assyria.  Nothing  is  known  of  Nimrod  beyond  what  we  are 
told  here,  neither  are  there  strong  reasons  for  identifying  him 
with  any  personage  of  Babylonian  or  Assyrian  history  or  mytho- 
logy. There  are  many  theories  ;  e.  g.  that  Nimrod  is  the  Babylo- 
nian god  Merodach  ;  or  Gilgames,  king  of  Erech,  the  hero  of  the 
epic  of  which  the  Flood  is  an  episode;  or  one  of  the  early 
Babylonian  kings. 

lie  began  to  be  a  mighty  one  :  rather  '  he  was  the  first 
conqueror '  or  '  great  king.' 

9.  a  mighty  hunter.  The  Assyrian  kings  were  enthusiastic 
hunters,  and  hunting  scenes  are  often  depicted  on  their  monu 
ments. 

before  the  LOBD.  This  is  variously  explained  as  '  a  divines- 
great  hunter '  ;  '  a  hunter  in  spite  of,  or  in  disregard  of,  the  Lord  ' ; 
or  '  a  hunter  in  heaven.'  The  last  theory  supposes  that  Nimrod. 
like  Orion,  was  a  mythological  character,  who  gave  name  to 
a  constellation.  The  meaning  of  the  phrase  is  not  certainly 
known. 

10.  the  beginning  of  his  kingdom  was  :  i.e.  at  the  beginning 
of  his  reign  his  kingdom  consisted  of  Babel  and  the  other  towns 
mentioned  in  this  verse  ;  afterwards  he  added  the  Assyrian  towns 
mentioned  in  the  next  verse.  It  is  not  said  that  he  founded  or 
conquered  Babel,  &c. ;  and  the  terms  of  this  verse  would  be  con- 
sistent with  his  having  in  Babylonia  succeeded  to  the  throne 
previously  occupied  by  a  line  of  kings. 

Babel :  see  on  xi.  9. 

Erech  :  on  the  Euphrates  south  of  Babylon. 

Accad :  not  certainly  identified.  Accad  was  the  name  ot 
Babylonia  before  its  occupation  by  the  Semitic  Babylonians,  but 
here  Accad  is  apparently  a  city,  and  is  sometimes  supposed  to  be 
Agade,  a  Babylonian  city  whose  exact  site  is  not  known. 

Calneh  :  not  certainly  identified,  perhaps  Nippur. 

the  land  of  Shinar  :  commonly  identified  with  Babylonia. 

11.  Out    of   that    land.     The    historical    representation    that 

M  2 


164  GENESIS  10.  12-15.     J 

land  he  went  forth  into  Assyria,  and  builded  Nineveh, 

12  and    Rehoboth-Ir,    and    Calah,    and    Resen    between 

13  Nineveh  and  Calah  (the  same  is  the  great  city).     And 
Mizraim  begat  Ludim,  and  Anamim,  and  Lehabim,  and 

14  Naphtuhim,  and  Pathrusim,  and  Casluhim  (whence  went 
forth  the  Philistines),  and  Caphtorim. 

15  And  Canaan  begat  Zidon   his    firstborn,   and   Heth; 

Assyria  was  a  colony  or  offshoot  of  the  early  Babylonian  empire 
is  confirmed  by  the  inscriptions.  We  have  no  actual  account  of 
the  emigration,  but  all  the  evidence  tends  to  show  that  Assyria 
was  settled  by  emigrants  from  Babylonia  at  some  date  before 
b.  c.  2300. 

lie  went  forth  into  Assyria.  The  R.  V.  marg.,  '  went  forth 
Asshur,'  is  not  a  probable  translation. 

Nineveh,  on  the  Tigris,  opposite  the  site  of  the  modern 
Mosul.     References  to  the  city  are  found  as  early  as  b.  c.  2800. 

Rehoboth-Ir  :  not  identified. 

12.  Calah,  on  the  Tigris,  twenty  miles  south  of  Nineveh,  on 
the  site  of  the  modern  Nimrud. 

Resen  :  the  site  cannot  be  more  exactly  fixed  than  it  is  by  the 
statement  here  that  it  was  between  Nineveh  and  Calah. 

13,  14.  Note  that  the  descendants  of  Mizraim  ^  Egypt)  are 
expressly  given  as  peoples,  Ludim,  i.e.  Ludites,  &c. 

13.  Ltidim  :  not  identified,  the  name  suggests  Lydians,  but  even 
if  understood  of  Lydian  mercenaries  Ludim  here  can  hardly  be 
Lydians.  Lud  or  Ludim  are  connected  with  Ethiopia  and  Lybia 
in  Jer.  xlvi.  9  and  Ezek.  xxx.  5.  In  the  Priestly  Document,  verse 
22,  Lud  is  a  descendant  of  Shem. 

Anamim:  not  identified,  only  elsewhere  1  Chron.  i.  11. 

Lehabim,  a  corruption  of  Lubim,  Lib3^ans. 

Naphtuhim:  not  identified,  only  elsewhere  1  Chron.  i.  11. 

14.  Pathrusim,  the  people  of  Pathros,  i.  e.  probably  Upper 
Egypt. 

Casluhim :  not  identified,  only  elsewhere  1  Chron.  i.  12. 

whence    went    forth    the    Philistines :    Heb.    '  Pelishtim.' . 
As  the  Philistines  are  said  in  Amos  ix.  7  and  Jer.  xlvii.  4  to  have 
come  from  Caphtor,  this  clause  should  be  placed  after  Caphtorim. 
It  was  probably  a  note  in  the  margin,  which  has  been  introduced 
into  the  text  in  the  wrong  place. 

Caphtorim.  The  locality  of  Caphtor  is  not  yet  definitely 
fixed ;  it  has  been  variously  identified  with  a  district  in  Egypt, 
with  Phoenicia,  Cyprus,  Crete,  and  Cilicia. 

15.  Zidon  his  firstborn.     Zidon,  as  the  ancient  capital,  stands 


GENESIS  10.  16-19.     J  165 

and  the  Jebusite,  and  the  Amorite,  and  the  Girgashite ;  16 
and  the  Hivite,  and  the  Arkite,  and  the  Sinite;  and  the  17,18 
Arvadite,  and  the  Zemarite,  and  the   Hamathite :    and 
afterward   were   the   families   of  the   Canaanite   spread 
abroad.     And  the  border  of  the  Canaanite  was   from  19 
Zidon,  as  thou  goest  toward  Gerar,  unto  Gaza  ;  as  thou 
goest  toward  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  and  Admah  and 

here  for  the  Phoenicians,  the  '  firstborn  '  or  most  important  branch 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan. 

Heth,  or  the  Hittites,  a  great  people,  at  one  time  dominant 
in  Asia  Minor  and  Syria.  Here  the  'Heth,'  who  is  a  son  of 
Canaan  and  less  important  than  Zidon.  stands  merely  for  the 
Hittite  settlements  in  Canaan.  The  Hittites  were  not  Semites, 
and  belonged  to  an  entirely  different  race  from  the  Phoenicians. 

16.  Jebusite:  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  and  its  district. 
Amorite:  a  term  variously  used,  sometimes  for  the  inhabitants 

of  Canaan  generally  ;  sometimes,  e.  g.  in  the  Amarna  tablets,  for 
the  inhabitants  of  Northern  Palestine. 
Girgrashite  :  not  identified. 

17,  18.  Hivite:  inhabitants  of  the  districts  about  Gibeon, 
Shechem,  and  Hermon. 

Arkite  .  .  .  Sinite  .  .  .  Arvadite  .  .  .  Zemarite :  inhabitants 
of  Arka,  Sianu,  Arvad,  and  Zemar,  towns  in  Northern  Phoenicia. 

Hamathite.  Hamath  was  a  city  and  state  to  the  north  of 
Palestine. 

afterward  were  the  families  of  the  Canaanite  spread 
abroad.  This  must  be  read  with  the  following  verse,  spread 
abroad  so  as  to  occupy  the  territory  defined  in  the  following 
verse. 

19.  the  border  of  the  Canaanite.  The  border  is  traced  from 
Zidon  at  the  north-west  of  Canaan  southward  along  the  coast  to 
Gerar  (seexx.  1)  and  Gaza  in  the  south-west,  then  eastward  across 
the  desert  south  of  Palestine  to  a  group  of  cities  at  the  south-east  (?) 
of  the  Dead  Sea.  The  eastern  frontier  is  probably  assumed  to 
be  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Jordan,  and  the  northern  frontier  a  line 
drawn  eastward  from  Zidon.  This  territory  does  not  include 
Arka,  Sianu,  Arvad  and  Zemar  of  verse  18.  Probably  verses 
15-19  have  received  late  additions. 

Sodom  and  Gomorrah  and  Admah  and  Zeboiim.  The 
same  group  of  cities  occur  in  Gen.  xiv.  2  and  Deut.  xxix.  23  ;  in 
the  latter  passage  all  four  are  spoken  of  as  overthrown  by 
Yahweh.  In  Gen.  xix  only  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  are  named  as 
overthrown.     In  Hosea  xi.  8,  on  the  other  hand,  only  Admah 


166  GENESIS  10.  20-22.     J  P J  P 

20  Zeboiim,  unto  Lasha.  [P]  These  are  the  sons  of  Ham, 
after  their  families,  after  their  tongues,  in  their  lands,  in 
their  nations. 

2 1  [J]  And  unto  Shem,  the  father  of  all  the  children  of  Eber, 
the  elder  brother  of  Japheth,  to  him  also  were  children 

22  born.     [P]  The  sons  of  Shem;  Elam,  and  Asshur,  and 

and  Zeboiim  are  so  named.     These  cities  were  probably  located 
at  the  south-east  of  the  Dead  Sea  :  cf.  on  xix. 

Lasha:  not  known,  and  not  mentioned  anywhere  else.  If  we 
could  read  Laish  or  Lesham  in  Dan  we  should  have  the  north- 
east point,  at  which  the  northern  and  eastern  borders  of  Canaan 
might  meet,  and  the  territory  would  then  be  exactly  defined.  The 
formulae,  however,  in  the  rest  of  the  verse  suggest  that  the  writer 
*  would  not  have  wrapped  up  all  this  information  in  two  words,  but 
would  have  been  more  explicit.  Possibly  a  scribe  jotted  down 
'  unto  Lesham  '  in  the  margin  as  a  point  fixing  the  boundaries 
not  specified  ;  and  this  phrase  was  copied  into  the  text  in  a  corrupt 
form. 

x.  20.     Priestly  Document.     Conclusion  of  the  genealogy  of  Ham. 

This  lawyer-like  accumulation  of  synonymous  terms  is  charac- 
teristic of  this  document. 

x.  21.     Primitive    Document.      Beginning  of  the  genealogy  of 
Shem. 

the  father  of  all  the  children  of  Eber.  Special  stress  is 
laid  upon  the  ancestry  of  Eber,  because  Eber  was  the  ancestor  of 
Israel,  and  from  Eber  was  formed  the  name  Hebrew  by  which  the 
Israelites  were  known  in  relation  to  foreigners.  '  Eber '  means 
'beyond,'  and  the  Hebrews  were  so-called  as  living  'beyond  the 
river,'  probably  west  of  the  Euphrates.  Thus  Eber  is  an  epony- 
mous ancestor.  In  early  times  '  Hebrews'  included  other  tribes 
besides  Israel ;  and  if  '  Habiri '  in  the  Amarna  tablets  means 
Hebrews  it  is  in  this  larger  sense.  Later  on  Hebrew  became 
synonymous  with  Israelite.  According  to  verses  22,  24  Eber  is 
the  great-grandson  of  Shem. 

the  elder  brother  of  Japheth :  inserted  to  prevent  the  reader 
thinking  that  Shem  was  the  youngest,  because  he  is  mentioned 
last.  The  R.  V.  marg.,  'the  brother  of  Japheth  the  elder,'  is 
apparently  meant  to  assert  that  Japheth  was  the  elder — an 
improbable  translation. 

x.  22-24.     Priestly  Document.     Beginning  of  the  genealogy  of 
Shem. 

22.   Elam,  east  of  Assyria. 


GENESIS  10.  23-30.     PJ  167 

Arpachshad,  and  Lud,  and  Aram.  And  the  sons  of  Aram ;  23 
Uz,  and  Hul,  and  Gether,and  Mash.  [J]  And  Arpachshad  24 
begat  Shelah;  and  Shelah  begat  Eber.  And  unto  Eber  25 
were  born  two  sons  :  the  name  of  the  one  was  Peleg ; 
for  in  his  days  was  the  earth  divided ;  and  his  brother's 
name  was  Joktan.  And  Joktan  begat  Almodad,  and  26 
Sheieph,  and  Hazarmaveth,  and  Jerah;  and  Hadoram,and  27 
Uzal,  and  Diklah;  and  Obal,  and  Abimael,  and  Sheba;  28 
and  Ophir,  and  Havilah,  and  Jobab  :  all  these  were  the  29 
sons  of  Joktan.     And  their  dwelling  was  from  Mesha,  30 

Asshur  :  Assyria. 

Arpachshad  :  perhaps  equivalent  to  'the  territory  of  Chesed,' 
i.  e.  'of  the  Chaldeans  or  Babylonians.'  Here  Eber  is  descended 
from  Arpachshad,  and  Abraham  the  Hebrew  comes  from  Ur- 
Chasdim. 

Lud:  perhaps  Lydia,  cf.  verse  13. 

Aram :  Syria. 

23.  Uz  .  .  .  Hul  .  .  .  Gether  .  .  .  Mash:  districts  of  Syria 
whose  exact  locality  is  not  certainly  known.  In  xxii.  21  J,  Uz  is 
a  son  of  Nahor. 

24-30.  Primitive  Document.  Conclusion  of  the  genealogy  of 
Shem. 

24.  Arpachshad  begat  Shelah.  The  Septuagint  has  '  begat 
Cainan,  and  Cainan  begat  Shelah.'  Nothing  is  known  about 
Shelah.  This  verse  is  generally  considered  to  be  an  addition  by 
the  editor. 

25.  Peleg :  unknown. 

in  his  days  was  the  earth  divided :  i.  e.  the  inhabitants 
separated  into  different  nations,  and  divided  the  lands  between 
them,  perhaps  a  reference  to  the  scattering  of  the  peoples  in  xi. 
1-9.  Joktan  and  bis  sons,  verses  26-29,  as  far  as  they  can  be 
identified,  seem  for  the  most  part  to  be  tribes  of  South-West  Arabia. 

28.  Obal.     In  1  Chron.  i.  22,  Ebal. 
Sheba.     See  verse  7. 

29.  Ophir.  The  position  of  Ophir  is  the  subject  of  much  con- 
troversy, e.  g.  it  has  recently  been  placed  in  South-East  Africa, 
also  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  in  India. 

Havilah.     See  verse  7. 

30.  from  Mesha,  &c.  This  boundary  line  cannot  be  deter- 
mined, because  Mesha,  Sephar,  and  the  mountain  of  the  east  are 
none  of  them  certainly  known.  Probably  the  territory  indicated 
is  part  of  Arabia. 


168  GENESIS  10.  31  — 11.  4-     JPJ 

as  thou  goest  toward  Sephar,  the  mountain  of  the  east. 

31  [P]  These  are  the  sons  of  Shem,  after  their  families, 
after  their  tongues,  in  their  lands,  after  their  nations. 

32  These  are  the  families  of  the  sons  of  Noah,  after  their 
generations,  in  their  nations:  and  of  these  were  the 
nations  divided  in  the  earth  after  the  flood. 

11      [J]  And  the  whole  earth  was  of  one  language  and  of  one 

2  speech.     And  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  journeyed  east, 
that  they  found  a  plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar ;  and  they 

3  dwelt  there.  And  they  said  one  to  another,  Go  to,  let 
us    make    brick,  and  burn  them  throughly.     And  they 

4  had  brick  for  stone,  and  slime  had  they  for  mortar.     And 

x.  31,  32.  Priestly  Document.  Conclusion  of  the  genealogy  of 
Shem,  and  of  the  sons  of  Noah  generally. 

xi.  19.     The  Tower  of  Babel  (J). 

Mankind  settle  in  Babylonia  as  a  single  community, 
speaking  one  language.  They  propose  to  build  a  city  and 
a  tower  that  they  may  keep  together.  But  Yahweh,  lest  they 
should  become  too  powerful,  makes  them  speak  different  lan- 
guages, so  that  they  cannot  understand  one  another,  and  scatters 
them  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  Hence  the  city  was  called 
Confusion  (Babel). 

Sources,  &c.  No  Babylonian  original  has  yet  been  found;  but 
similar  stories  of  one  original  language  are  cited  from  other 
folklore.  The  narrative  reveals  the  profound  impression  made 
upon  the  Israelites  by  the  vast  extent,  the  culture,  and  the 
antiquity  of  Babylon.  This  story,  we  must  remember,  is  at  least 
as  old  as  the  early  monarchy,  say  the  time  of  Solomon. 

1.  lanjfuag'e  .  .  .  speech.     Heb.  '  lips  .  .   .  words.' 

2.  as  they  journeysd  east.  In  chapters  ii-iv  Eden  seems  to 
be  in  the  east,  and  Adam  and  Eve  are  driven  from  Eden  east- 
ward l ;  so  that  those  chapters  seem  to  place  mankind  already 
east  of  Babylon.  If  so,  this  section  is  an  independent  story. 
The  R.  V.  marg.,  'in  the  east,1  would  be  consistent  with  ii-iv. 

Shinar.     Cf.  x.  10.     Babylonia  is  a  vast  plain. 

3.  slime.  R.  V.  marg.  'bitumen,'  equivalent  to  the  'pitch'  in 
vi.  14  (which  see),  though  a  different  word  is  used  here.    Bitumen 

1  Gen.  ii.  8,  iii.  24. 


GENESIS  11.  5-8.     J  169 

they  said,  Go  to,  let  us  build  us  a  city,  and  a  tower,  whose 
top  may  reach  unto  heaven,  and  let  us  make  us  a  name ; 
lest  we  be  scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth.     And  the  Lord  came  down  to  see  the  city  and  the  5 
tower,   which  the  children  of  men  builded.      And  the  6 
Lord  said,  Behold,  they  are  one  people,  and  they  have 
all  one  language ;  and  this  is  what  they  begin  to  do  :  and 
now  nothing  will  be  withholden  from  them,  which  they 
purpose  to  do.     Go  to,  let  us  go  down,  and  there  con-  7 
found  their  language,  that  they  may  not  understand  one 
another's  speech.     So  the  Lord  scattered  them  abroad  8 
from  thence  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth :  and  they  left 


was  largely  used  for  mortar  in  Bab}donian  buildings,  which  were 
mostly  of  brick. 

4.  a  tower,  whose  top  may  reach  unto  heaven :  a  gigantic 
landmark,  visible  everywhere,  so  that  men  could  not  lose  them- 
selves, but  might  always  find  their  waj'  back  to  the  great  city 
which  was  to  be  the  permanent  home  of  mankind.  Heaven  to 
the  primitive  imagination  was  '  high  above  the  earth,'  but  not  so 
high  but  that  it  might  be  reached  in  time.  We  are  reminded  of 
the  classical  story  in  which  the  Titans  piled  Mount  Pelion  on 
Mount  Ossa  to  reach  Olympus,  the  home  of  the  gods  ;  but  there 
is  no  idea  here  of  men  using  the  tower  as  a  way  up  to  heaven. 
It  was  merely  a  rallying  point.  The  tower  was  suggested  by  the 
ruins  of  one  of  the  immense  temple  towers  or  pyramids  of 
Babylon,  probably  E-sagil,  the  great  temple  of  Merodach. 

let  us  m?„ke  us  a  name  :  a  great  and  glorious  reputation. 
These  vast  buildings  would  be  a  monument  of  the  energy,  genius, 
and  resource  of  the  builders. 

lest  we  "be  scattered.  To  the  primitive  mind  the  world 
beyond  the  familiar  districts  in  which  a  community  was  settled 
seemed  an  inhospitable  waste  ;  and  men  were  anxious  to  keep 
the  comfortable  society  of  their  neighbours  and  kinsfolk. 

5.  The  XiO&D  came  down  to  see :  another  touch  of  the  primitive 
anthropomorphism  which  characterizes  this  document. 

6.  nothing"  will  he  withholden  from  them.  In  the  same 
naive  spirit  Yahweh  is  thought  of  as  surprised  at  the  achievements 
of  mankind,  and  apprehensive  lest  the  united  race  should  be  too 
powerful ;  just  as  in  hi.  22-24  Adam  and  Eve  are  driven  out  of 
Eden  lest  they  should  become  immortal. 

*I.  let  us  g"o  down.     For  the  '  us '  see  on  i.  26. 


IO 


170  GENESIS  11.  9,10.     JP 

9  off  to  build  the  city.  Therefore  was  the  name  of  it  called 
Babel;  because  the  Lord  did  there  confound  the  lan- 
guage of  all  the  earth  :  and  from  thence  did  the  Lord 
scatter  them  abroad  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth. 

[P]  These  are  the  generations  of  Shem.     Shemwas  an 

8.  they  left  off  to  build  tiie  city.  Though  not  expressly 
stated,  it  is  evidently  implied  that  considerable  progress  had  been 
made  with  the  city  and  the  tower,  otherwise  there  would  have 
been  nothing  for  Yahweh  to  see  to  make  Him  apprehensive. 

9.  Therefore  was  the  name  of  it  called  Babel.  The  name 
Babel  (Babylon)  might  easily  seem  to  a  Hebrew  writer  a  contrac- 
tion of  Balbel,  '  confusion,'  from  the  root  balal,  'to  confound,'  just 
as  the  story  might  suggest  to  an  English  reader  that  Babel  was 
derived  from  'babble.'  The  real  etymology  of  Babel  is  not  cer- 
tainly known  ;  it  is  often  explained  as  Bab-il,  *  Gate  of  God.'  In 
one  Babylonian  version  of  the  Creation  story  Babylon  and  other 
cities  are  among  the  first  things  created,  and  Merodach  makes 
bricks  to  build  a  dwelling  for  the  gods.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
although  the  primitive  tradition  grew  up  when  Babylon  was  a 
splendid  metropolis,  and  the  centre  of  culture  and  religion  for  the 
ancient  East,  this  great  city  is  regarded  as  unfinished,  a  monument 
of  the  futility  of  human  effort  apart  from  Divine  approval. 
'  Except  Yahweh  build  the  house,  they  labour  in  vain  that 
build  it  V 

xi.  10-26.     The  Genealogy  from  Shem  to  Abram  (P). 

This  section  continues  the  chronological  scheme  of  the  Priestly 
Document.  Here  again  the  figures  differ  in  the  different  au- 
thorities (see  Table  opposite\ 

Here,  as  in  the  genealogy  in  chapter  v,  the  Septuagint  usually 
adds  100  years  to  the  '  Age  at  birth  of  Firstborn,'  but  does  not 
follow  the  method  of  ch.  v  in  deducting  this  100  years  from  the 
'  Rest  of  Life.'  The  Samaritan  Text,  however,  usually  adds  100 
years  to  the  '  Age  at  birth  of  Firstborn,'  and  deducts  them  from 
the  '  Rest  of  Life.'  In  chapter  v  we  have  ten  generations,  here  only 
nine  ;  hence  perhaps  the  insertion  of  Cainan  by  the  Septuagint. 
The  numbers  for  Cainan  are  repeated  from  those  for  Shelah. 
Adding  together  the  figures  in  the  two  tables  the  interval  from 
the  Creation  to  the  Birth  of  Abraham  is  1,946  years  according  to 
the  Massoretic  Text,  2,247  years  according  to  tne  Samaritan  Text, 


Ps. 


cxxvn.  1. 


GENESIS  11.  n-13. 


171 


hundred  years  old,  and  begat  Arpachshad  two  years  after 
the  flood:  and  Shem  lived  after  he  begat  Arpachshad  n 
five  hundred  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters. 

And  Arpachshad  lived  five  and  thirty  years,  and  begat  12 
Shelah :    and  Arpachshad  lived  after  he  begat    Shelah  13 


Heb.  Text  in 

Massoretic 
Heb.  Text. 

Samaritan 

MSS. 

Septuagint. 

Age  at 

Age  at 

Age  at 

birth 

Rest 

birth 

Rest 

birth 

Rest 

of 

of 

of 

of 

of 

of 

First- 

Life. 

First- 

Life. 

First- 

Life. 

born. 

born. 

born. 

Shem 

100 

500 

100 

500 

100 

500 

Arpachshad 

35 

403 

135 

303 

135 

43o 

Cainan    . 

130 

33o 

Shelah 

30 

403 

130 

303 

130 

330 

Eber. 

34 

43o 

134 

270 

134 

37o 

Peleg 

,    3o 

209 

130 

109 

130 

209 

Reu   . 

32 

207 

132 

107 

132 

207 

Serug 

30 

200 

130 

100 

130 

200 

Nahor 

29 

119 

79 

69 

79 

129 

Terah 

70 

135 

70 

75 

70 

135 

Total     . 

39o 

1040 

1 170 

from  Flood  to  Birth 

of  Abraham       .     . 

290 

, 

940 

j  1070 

3.332  years  according  to  the  Septuagint.     Perhaps  the  Hebrew 
Text  is  the  more  accurate  here.     The  numbers  differ  somewhat  in 
different  manuscripts  of  the  Septuagint. 
10.  generations  :  see  ii.  4. 

Shem  :  see  ix.  26. 

Arpachshad  :  see  x.  22,  where  Arpachshad  is  the  third  son  of 
Shem. 

two  years  after  the  flood.  According  to  v.  32,  vii.  6  (both  P) 
Shem  was  an  hundred  years  old  when  the  Flood  began.  The 
clause  here  is  probably  an  addition  by  some  one  who  overlooked 
the  previous  date  and  wished  to  make  it  clear  that  the  birth  did 
not  happen  till  Shem  had  left  the  ark. 

12.  Shelah:  see  x.  24.     Before  Shelah  the  Septuagint  inserts 
Cainan,  see  above. 


172  GENESIS  11.  14-26.     P 

four  hundred   and   three   years,    and   begat    sons   and 
daughters. 
14,15     And  Shelah  lived  thirty  years,  and  begat  Eber :  and 
Shelah  lived  after  he  begat  Eber  four  hundred  and  three 
years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters. 

16  And  Eber  lived  four  and  thirty  years,  and  begat  Peleg  : 

17  and  Eber  lived  after  he  begat  Peleg  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters. 

i8,i9     And  Peleg  lived  thirty  years,  and  begat  Reu :  and 

Peleg  lived  after  he  begat  Reu  two  hundred  and  nine 

years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters. 

20      And  Reu  lived  two  and  thirty  y^ars,  and  begat  Serug  : 

2r  and  Reu  lived  after  he  begat  Serug  two  hundred  and 

seven  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daughters. 
^,23     And  Serug  lived  thirty  years,  and  begat  Nahor  :  and 
Serug  lived  after  he  begat  Nahor  two  hundred  years,  and 
begat  sons  and  daughters. 

24  And  Nahor  lived  nine  and  twenty  years,  and  begat 

25  Terah :  and  Nahor  lived  after  he  begat  Terah  an 
hundred  and  nineteen  years,  and  begat  sons  and 
daughters. 

26  And  Terah  lived  seventy  years,  and  begat  Abram, 
Nahor,  and  Haran. 

14.  Eber  :  see  x.  24. 
16.  Peleg  :  see  x.  25. 

18.  Reu       )  otherwise     unknown,    sometimes    taken     to    be 

20.  Serug"  \  names  of  ancient  Semitic  deities. 

22.  Nahor :  perhaps  originally  the  same  as  the  Nahor  who  in 
verse  26  is  the  son  of  Terah. 

24.   Terah :  also  sometimes  taken  as  the  name  of  a  deity. 

26.  Abram:  probably  understood  by  the  priestly  writer  as 
Lofty  {ram)  Father  (ab),  i.  e.  the  great  ancestor  of  Israel.  The 
word  is,  however,  a  form  of  Abiram,  '  The  Father  is  the  Lofty 
One/  where  both  elements  are  divine  titles.  A  corresponding 
name,  Abu-ratim.  is  found  in  Babylonian  and  Assyrian.  Many 
scholars  hold  that  in  Abram,  at  any  rate,  we  meet  with  a  real 


GENESIS  11.  27-29.     PJ  173 

Now  these  are  the  generations  of  Terah.     Terah  be-  27 
gat  Abram,  Nahor,  and  Haran ;  and  Haran  begat  Lot. 
[J]  And  Haran  died  in  the  presence  of  his  father  Terah  28 
in  the  land  of  his  nativity,  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees.     And  29 
Abram   and   Nahor   took   them   wives :    the    name    of 
Abram's  wife  was  Sarai ;  and  the  name  of  Nahor's  wife, 

historical  personage,  and  are  not  merely  reading  of  the  history 
of  a  people.     For  the  form  Abraham  see  on  xvii.  5. 

Nahor.  There  is  no  clear  evidence  to  show  whether  Nahor 
was  originally  the  name  of  a  place,  a  people,  a  deit3',  or  an 
individual.     Cf.  verse  29. 

Harair.  The  initial  letter  {He)  of  this  name  in  Hebrew  is 
different  from  that  (Heth)  of  the  place  Haran  in  verses  31,  32. 
Nevertheless  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  one  is  a  corruption  of 
the  other,  and  that  this  Haran  is  the  place  personified.  Apart  from 
this  doubtful  theory  we  are  as  uncertain  about  Haran  as  we  are 
about  Nahor. 

xi.  27-32.     The  Sons  of  Terah  (J  and  P). 

2*7.  Priestly  Document.      Terah* s  Family. 

Lot.  As  the  '  father '  of  Moab  and  Ammon,  Lot  would  be 
originally  a  tribal  name.  Lotan,  perhaps  another  form  of  the 
same  name,  occurs  as  a  Horite  clan  in  Gen.  xxxvi.  20-29.  Notice 
also  the  similarity  of  Hor  and  Haran  l.     See  further  on  xix. 

28,  29.  Primitive  Document.  The  Death  of  Haran.  The 
wives  of  Abram  and  Nahor. 

28.  Ur  of  the  Chaldees.  Heb.  Ur-Kasdim,  cf.  on  x.  22.  The 
Chaldees,  Kaldu  in  the  inscriptions,  occupied  a  district  to  the  south- 
east of  Babylonia  proper.  They  had  also  settlements  in  Baby- 
lonia, where  the  dynasty  was  more  than  once  Chaldean,  e.  g.  in 
the  time  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  Hence  i  Chaldee '  came  to  be  used 
for  'Babylonian,'  and  so  here.  Ur  is  usually  identified  with 
Mngheir  on  the  Euphrates,  some  distance  east  of  its  junction  with 
the  Tigris,  and  considerably  south  of  Babylon. 

29.  Sarai.  Her  father's  name  is  not  given,  perhaps  because 
a  clause  of  the  Primitive  Document  has  been  omitted.  In  xx.  12 
(E) 2  she  is  said  to  have  been  Abram's  half-sister,  a  daughter  of 
Terah.  Sarai  is  perhaps  an  archaistic  variation  of  the  more 
usual  Sarah  =  'princess,'  cf.  xvii.  15.  Sarai  and  Nahor  are  said 
to  be  found  as  personal  names  in  Babylonian  inscriptions  3. 


1  The  initials,  however,  are  different  in  Hebrew. 

2  Cf.  p.  30.        :'  Kittel,  Babylonian  Excavations,  Eng.  tr.,  p.  33. 


i74  GENESIS  11.  30-32.     J  P 

Milcah,  the  daughter  of  Haran,  the  father  of  Milcah, 

30  and  the  father  of  Iscah.      And  Sarai  was  barren  ;  she 

31  had  no  child.  [P]  And  Terah  took  Abram  his  son,  and 
Lot  the  son  of  Haran,  his  son's  son,  and  Sarai  his 
daughter  in  law,  his  son  Abram's  wife ;  and  they  went 
forth  with  them  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  to  go  into  the 
land  of  Canaan ;  and  they  came  unto  Haran,  and  dwelt 

32  there.  And  the  days  of  Terah  were  two  hundred  and 
five  years  :  and  Terah  died  in  Haran. 

Milcah,  also  referred  to  in  xxii.  20,  23,  xxiv.  15,  24,  47.  The 
name  also  occurs  for  one  of  the  daughters  of  Zelophehad,  Num. 
xxvi.  33,  &c.  Milcah,  =  'queen,'  was  perhaps  originally  a 
divine  title.  Nahor  marries  his  niece,  i.  e.  according  to  some, 
two  cognate  tribes  unite. 

Iscah :  never  mentioned  elsewhere,  and  in  the  present  form 
of  the  narrative  there  seems  no  reason  why  she  should  be  intro- 
duced here.  Iscah  has  been  supposed  to  be  Sarai  by  another 
name,  or  to  have  married  Lot.  Here  again  the  Primitive  Docu- 
ment no  doubt  furnished  further  information,  which  has  been 
omitted  by  the  editor  ;  unless  we  adopt  a  suggestion  *  that  '  the 
father  of  Iscah '  is  due  to  an  accidental  repetition  of  '  the  father  of 
Sarai,'  and  the  subsequent  change  of  Sarai  into  Iscah.  The 
etymology  of  Iscah  is  uncertain  ;  it  has  been  explained  as  an 
Aramaic  name  =  ' beautiful,  good-looking,'  from  a  root  sakd. 

xi.  31,  32.     Priestly  Document.      Terah  and  his  family  migrate 
from  Ur  to  Haran,  where  Terah  dies. 

31.  they  went  forth:  no  reason  is  given.  According  to  later 
legends  they  left  Chaldea  to  avoid  idolatry,  e.  g.  Judith  v.  6-9, 
'  This  people  are  descended  of  the  Chaldeans  :  and  they 
sojourned  ...  in  Mesopotamia,  because  they  were  not  minded 
to  follow  the  gods  of  their  fathers  .  .  .  and  worshipped  the  God 
of  heaven  .  .  .  and  they  fled  into  Mesopotamia.'  The  germ  of  this 
account  is  found  in  Joshua  xxiv.  2.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
the  Hammurabi  dynasty2  introduced  a  lower  form  of  religion  into 
Babylonia,  and  that  therefore  Abrara,  the  representative  of  an 
older  and  purer  faith,  migrated  3. 

32.  the  days  of  Terah  were  two  hundred  and  five  years. 
At  first  sight  we  might  suppose  from  the  arrangement  of  the 

1  Ball,  Sacred  Books  of  the  Old  Testament. 
2  See  on  ch.  xiv.         3  Winckler,  Abraham  ah  Babylonier,  p.  25. 


GENESIS  12.  1-3.     J  175 

[J]  Now  the  Lord  said  unto  Abram,  Get  thee  out  of  thy  12 
country,  and  from  thy  kindred,   and  from  thy  father's 
house,  unto  the  land  that  I  will  shew  thee :  and  I  will  2 
make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and 
make  thy  name  great ;   and  be  thou  a  blessing :   and  3 
I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  him  that  curseth 

narrative  that  Abram  left  Haran  after  the  death  of  Terah  ;  but 
Terah  was  seventy  (verse  26)  when  Abram  was  born,  and  Abram 
was  seventy-five  (xii.  4,  P),  and  therefore  Terah  145,  when 
Abram  left  Haran,  so  that  Terah  survived  Abram's  departure 
by  sixty  years.  The  Samaritan  Text  remedies  this  awkward 
arrangement  by  making  Terah  die  at  the  age  of  145,  so  that 
Abram  waited  till  his  father  died  before  he  left  Haran.  Some 
scholars  believe  the  reading  of  the  Samaritan  Text  to  be  the 
original.  Possibly  the  awkward  arrangement  is  due  to  lack  of 
skill  on  the  part  of  the  editor. 

xii  1-9.    Abram  Migrates  from  Haran  to  Canaan  (J  and  P). 

Without  questioning  the  historical  existence  of  Abram  as  an 
individual,  we  must  yet  think  of  this  episode  as  not  merely  the 
travels  of  a  childless  couple  and  their  nephew  and  servants,  but 
the  migration  of  nomad  tribes  which  afterwards  became  Israel, 
Edom,  Moab,  Ammon,  &c  Abram  is  not  merely  the  husband  of 
Sarai  and  the  uncle  of  Lot,  but  the  chief  of  those  tribes.  This  is 
plainly  intimated  in  xiv.  14.  where  he  appears  as  the  leader  of 
318  fighting  men,  '  born  in  his  house.'  If  we  accept  these  figures 
they  would  imply  a  following  of  at  least  2,000  persons. 

xii.  i-4a.  Primitive  Document.  Abram  and  Lot  leave  Haran 
at  the  bidding  of  Yahweh. 

1.  thy  country.     Haran,  cf.  xxiv.  4,  7,  &c. 

the  land  that  I  will  shew  thee.  The  land  is  not  named,  an 
additional  test  of  the  faith  already  severely  tried  by  the  command 
to  leave  home  and  kindred.  '  By  faith  Abraham  .  .  .  went  out, 
not  knowing  whither  he  went1/ 

2.  be  thou  a  blessing  :  sometimes  explained  as  '  thou  shalt  be 
an  incarnate  blessing,  prosperity  itself2';  otherwise  as  'thy 
happiness  shall  be  so  celebrated  as  to  be  a  proverb,  many  men 
will  say,  "  mayest  thou  be  as  blessed  as  Abraham'"  ;  cf.  the  good 
wishes  of  the  people  of  Beth-lehem  for  Boaz  and  Ruth,  '  Yahweh 
make  the  woman  that  is  come  into  thine  house  like  Rachel  and 
like  Leah,  which  two  did  build  the  house  of  Israel  y  cf.  on  verse  3b. 

1  Heb.  xi.  8.  a  So  Holzinger.  s  Ruth  iv.  n. 


176  GENESIS  12.  4-6.     JPJ 

thee  will  I  curse :  and  in  thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the 

4  earth  be  blessed.  So  Abram  went,  as  the  Lord  had 
spoken  unto  him ;  and  Lot  went  with  him  :  [P]  and 
Abram  was  seventy  and  five  years  old  when  he  departed 

5  out  of  Haran.  And  Abram  took  Sarai  his  wife,  and  Lot 
his  brother's  son,  and  all  their  substance  that  they  had 
gathered,  and  the  souls  that  they  had  gotten  in  Haran ; 
and  they  went  forth  to  go  into  the  land  of  Canaan  •  and 

6  into  the  land  of  Canaan  they  came.  [J]  And  Abram 
passed  through  the  land  unto  the  place  of  Shechem,  unto 

3.  in  thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  he  blessed. 
This  promise  is  repeated  to  Abram,  xviii.  18,  and  to  Jacob, 
xxviii.  14.  If  we  accept  this  translation  the  promise  means  that 
all  nations  shall  be  blessed  through  the  Revelation  given  to  Israel 
—a  promise  fulfilled  through  the  universality  of  the  Christian 
religion.  But  in  xxii.  18,  addressed  to  Abram,  and  in  xxvi.  4, 
to  Isaac,  the  promise  is  given  in  the  form,  '  in  thy  seed  shall  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  bless  themselves1,'  a  phrase  equivalent 
to  the  second  interpretation  given  to  '  be  thou  a  blessing '  in  the 
note  on  the  preceding  verse.  It  is  quite  possible2  that  the  promise 
here  and  in  xviii.  18,  xxviii.  14  should  also  be  translated  'shall 
.  .  .  bless  themselves.' 

xii.  4b,  5.  Priestly  Document.  Abram  and  Lot  migrate  from 
Haran  to  Canaan. 

4.  seventy  and  five  years  old.     See  on  xi.  32. 

5.  souls:  i.e.  'persons';  their  households,  slaves  and  other 
dependants. 

xii.  6-9.  Primitive  Document.     Abram's  wanderings  in  Canaan. 

6.  7.  Yahvveh  appears  to  Abram  at  Shechem.  and  Abram 
builds  an  altar. 

8.  Abram  builds  an  altar  near  Beth-el. 

9.  Abram  journeys  southward. 

6.  Shechem  :  Nab/us  in  Central  Palestine,  between  Mounts 
Ebal  and  Gerizim.  The  phrase  '  place  of  Shechem '  has  been 
understood  to  mean  'the  place  where  Shechem  afterwards  stood,' 
and  so   to  imply  that   Shechem  did  not  yet  exist.     But  this   is 


1  The  verbal  forms  in  Hebrew  for  'be  blessed  '  in  the  first  set  of 
passages,  and  f  bless  themselves  '  in  the  second,  are  different  ;  Niphal 
for  the  former,  Hithpael  for  the  latter. 

2  The  Niphal  may  have  a  reflexive  meaning  'bless  oneself.'  So 
Brown,  Driver,  and  Briggs,  Heb.  Lex. 


GENESIS  12.  7,  8.     J  177 

the  oak  of  Moreh.     And  the  Canaanite  was  then  in  the 
land.     And  the  Lord  appeared  unto  Abram,  and  said,  7 
Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land  :  and  there  builded 
he  an  altar  unto  the  Lord,  who  appeared  unto  him. 
And  he  removed  from  thence  unto  the  mountain  on  the  8 
east  of  Beth-el,  and  pitched  his  tent,  having  Beth-el  on 

improbable,  ;  place  '  is  used  of  an  inhabited  town,  xxix.  22,  &c, 
and  it  is  more  likely  that  '  place  '  is  used  here,  as  in  Jer.  vii.  12, 
of  a  sanctuary.  The  Mount  of  Shechem  (Sakama)  seems  to  be 
mentioned  in  the  notes  of  an  Egyptian  traveller  of  the  time  of 
Rameses  II1,  some  centuries  later. 

the  oak:  R.  V.  marg.,  'terebinth  of  Moreh.'  'Moreh'  is 
probably  'soothsayer,'  and  'the  oak  of  Moreh '  was  one  of  those 
sacred  trees  so  often  mentioned  by  the  O.  T.  in  connexion  with 
sanctuaries.  This  tree  stood  within  the  precincts  of  the  sanctuary 
of  Shechem,  and  its  title  f  Oak  of  the  Soothsayer '  suggests  that 
there  was  an  oracle  belonging  to  it. 

the  Canaanite  was  then  in  the  land.  The  simplest  ex- 
planation of  this  clause  is  that  it  was  written  when  the  Canaanites 
no  longer  occupied  this  district,  i.  e.  long  after  the  Conquest. 

7.  the  LORD  appeared  unto  Abram  .  .  .  and  there  builded 
he  an  altar.  No  doubt  the  priests  of  the  sanctuary  at  Shechem 
were  in  the  habit  of  telling  the  story  of  the  appearance  of  Yahweh 
to  Abram  under  the  sacred  tree,  and  of  the  altar  built  by  the 
patriarch.  Abram  may  have  been  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the 
sanctuary  ;  at  any  rate  its  claim  to  be  a  sacred  place  partly 
depended  on  its  connexion  with  him. 

8.  Beth-el  =  '  House  of  God,'  so  called  as  being  a  sanctuary  ; 
situated  in  Central  Palestine,  near  the  border  line  between 
Benjamin  and  Ephraim,  at  or  near  the  site  of  the  modern  Beitin. 
According  to  xxviii.  19  (which  see^  Beth-el  was  originally  called 
Luz,  and  received  the  name  Beth-cl  from  Jacob,  so  also  xxxv.  7. 
Judges  i.  23  would  rather  suggest  that  Luz  received  the  name 
Beth-el  after  its  capture  by  the  tribe  of  Joseph.  All  these  passages 
would  imply  that  Beth-el  was  made  a  sanctuary  by  the  Israelites2. 
No  mention  of  Beth-el  or  Luz  is  cited  from  the  inscriptions  older 
than  the  settlement  of  Israel  in  Canaan.     Beth-el  is  frequently 


1  T^*n  ravels  of  a  Mohar,  c.  B.C.  1300.  So  Muller,  Asien  und 
Eurqi     is.  394-  -:  '    7 

2  It*  •  ti j  however,  been  suggested  that  Luz  also  meant  sanctuary 
Winckler,  ap.  f  Beth-el '  Cheyne),  Encycl.  Bibl.  If  so  the  change 
of  name  would  indicate  that  an  old  Canaanite  sanctuary  was  appro- 
priated by  the  Israelites  and  adapted  to  the  worship  of  Yahweh. 

N 


178  GENESIS  12.  9-ti.     J 

the  west,  and  Ai  on  the  east :  and  there  he  builded  an 

altar  unto  the  Lord,  and  called  upon  the  name  of  the 
9  Lord.     And  Abram  journeyed,  going  on  still  toward  the 

South, 
io      And  there  was  a  famine  in  the  land  :  and  Abram  went 

down  into  Egypt  to  sojourn  there;    for  the  famine  was 
ii  sore  in  the  land.     And  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  was 

mentioned  in  the  history  and  the  prophets  as  an  Israelite 
sanctuary ;  it  was  the  more  important  of  the  two  temples  at 
which  Jeroboam  placed  his  golden  calves,  and  is  spoken  of  in 
Amos  vii.  13  as  a  royal  temple. 

Ai:  probably  Haiyan,  about  two  miles  east  of  Beth-el, 
separated  from  it  by  a  ravine.  In  Joshua  viii.  9  Joshua  places  an 
ambush  '  between  Beth-el  and  Ai,  westward  of  Ai.' 

called  upon  the  name  of:  worshipped. 

9.  toward  the  South :  i.  e.  the  Negeb  or  southern  district  01 
Judah. 

xii.  10-xiii.  2.     Abram  in  Egypt  (J). 

10.  Owing  to  a  famine  Abram  goes  to  Egypt. 

1 1- 13.  He  arranges  that  Sarai  should  call  herself  his  sister, 
lest  the  Egyptians  should  kill  him  in  order  to  gain  possession  of 
her. 

14-16.  On  account  of  her  beauty  Sarai  is  taken  into  Pharaoh's 
harem,  and  Pharaoh  bestows  great  gifts  on  Abram. 

17-xiii.  2.  Yahweh  plagues  Pharaoh  and  his  court  on  account 
of  Sarai,  and  Pharaoh  sends  Abram  out  of  Egypt. 

Comparison  with  similar  narratives-.  The  same  story  in  all  its 
essential  features  is  told  of  Abram,  Sarah  and  Abimelech,  king 
of  Gerar,  in  the  Elohistic  Document,  xx,  and  of  Isaac,  Rebekah,and 
Abimelech,  king  of  Gerar,  in  the  Primitive  Document  (J)  in  xxvi. 
1-11.  The  three  passages  are  probably  versions  of  the  same 
story.  The  religious  interest  of  the  passage  lies  in  the  care 
which  Yahweh  takes  of  His  people  when  they  seem  to  be  help- 
less in  a  foreign  land.  There  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  writer 
'  approved  or  admired  Abram's  deceit ;  on  the  other  hand,  we  may 
perhaps  see  some  sign  of  disapproval  in  the  fact  that  the 
patriarch's  crooked  policy  involved  him  in  difficulties  fr<">~*  which 
he  had  to  be  rescued  by  special  Divine  intervention.        rst 

10.  into  Egypt,  a  great  grain-producing  country,  ;>id  so  a 
natural  refuge  in  time  of  famine ;  there  would  be  'corn  L;  Egypt* 
if  anywhere.  So  Jacob  sends  to  Egypt  for  corn  in  a  time  of 
famine. 


GENESIS  12.  12-16.     J  179 

come  near  to  enter  into  Egypt,  that  he  said  unto  Sarai 
his  wife,  Behold  now,  I  know  that  thou  art  a  fair  woman 
to   look   upon :    and   it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  the  1 2 
Egyptians  shall  see  thee,  that  they  shall  say,  This  is  his 
wife  :  and  they  will  kill  me,  but  they  will  save  thee  alive. 
Say,  I  pray  thee,  thou  art  my  sister :  that  it  may  be  well  13 
with  me  for  thy  sake,  and  that  my  soul  may  live  because 
of  thee.     And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  when  Abram  was  14 
come  into  Egypt,  the  Egyptians  beheld  the  woman  that 
she  was  very  fair.     And  the  princes  of  Pharaoh  saw  her,  15 
and  praised  her  to  Pharaoh  :  and  the  woman  was  taken 
into  Pharaoh's  house.      And  he  entreated  Abram  well  16 
for  her  sake :   and  he  had  sheep,  and  oxen,  and  he- 
asses,  and  menservants,  and  maidservants,  and  she-asses, 

11.  a  fair  woman.  According  to  the  Priestly  Document,  xvii. 
17,  Sarai  was  90  when  Abram  was  100  ;  and  Abraham  was  75, 
xii.  4,  when  he  left  Haran  ;  so  that  at  this  time  Sarai  must  have 
been  at  least  65.  Many  ingenious  reasons  have  been  devised 
why  Sarai  at  65  should  have  been  so  beautiful  as  to  make  Abram 
think  that  the  Egyptians  would  kill  him  for  her  sake.  The 
obvious  explanation  is  that  the  statement  about  her  age  and  this 
story  come  from  different  documents. 

13.  my  sister,  cf.  xi.  29,  xx.  12. 

my  soul  may  live.  '  My  soul '  is  an  emphatic  way  of 
saying  <I.' 

15.  Pharaoh,  the  usual  title  of  the  kings  of  Egypt  in  the 
Old  Testament.  It  is  commonly  explained  as  representing  the 
Egyptian  title  for  the  king  per-'o,  'Great  house,  palace,' 
cf.  '  Sublime  Porte/  for  the  -Sultan  of  Turkey  or  his  govern- 
ment. 

16.  entreated  Abram  well,  e.  g.  gave  him  presents,  such  as 
are  enumerated  in  the  rest  of  the  verse. 

menservants  and  maidservants,  male  and  female  slaves  ; 
these  are  curiously  placed  between  the  'he-asses'  and  '  she-asses. ' 
Perhaps  the  slaves  are  a  later  insertion,  or  the  order  of  the  words 
has  been  accidentally  altered  in  copying.  The  absence  of  horses 
from  this  list  is  consistent  with  the  fact  that,  as  far  as  our  present 
information  goes,  horses  were  not  used  in  Egypt  before  b.c.  1800. 
and  this  chapter  probably  refers  to  an  earlier  period.  On  the 
other  hand  the  mention  of  the  camel  seems  to  be  an  anachronism  ; 

N  2 


180  GENESIS  12,  17-20.     J 

17  and  camels.     And  the  Lord  plagued  Pharaoh  and  his 
house  with  great  plagues  because  of  Sarai  Abram's  wife. 

18  And  Pharaoh  called  Abram,  and  said,  What  is  this  that 
thou  hast  done  unto  me  ?  why  didst  thou  not  tell  me 

19  that  she  was  thy  wife  ?     Why  saidst  thou,  She  is  my 
sister  ?  so  that  I  took  her  to  be  my  wife :  now  therefore 

20  behold  thy  wife,  take  her,  and  go  thy  way.     And  Pharaoh 

we  are  told  l,  '  The  camel  does  not  appear  in  any  inscription  or 
picture  before  the  Greek  period,'  centuries  later,  '  and  even  under 
Rameses  III,'  also  much  later,  '  the  donkey  is  still  expressly 
mentioned  as  the  beast  of  burden  of  the  desert2.'  The  omission 
of  the  horse  is  probably  not  due  to  any  archaeological  knowledge 
on  the  part  of  the  author,  but  rather  to  the  rarity  of  horses 
amongst  the  Israelites  in  early  times.  Possibly,  however,  the 
editor  may  have  omitted  '  horses ' ;  Deut.  xvii.  16  forbids  the  king 
to  multiply  horses  from  Egypt ;  and  it  was  not  well  that  Abram 
should  set  the  king  a  bad  example. 

17.  plagues  :  a  foreshadowing  of  the  Ten  Plagues  at  the  time 
of  the  Exodus. 

19.  I  took  her  to  be  my  wife,  i.  e.  one  of  the  ro3^al  harem. 
There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  the  words  are  to  be  taken  in 
any  but  their  full  sense.  In  the  parallel  narratives  this  feature 
is  altered,  and  the  story  is  told  so  that  it  is  clear  that  neither 
Sarah  nor  Rebekah  actually  became  the  wife  of  a  heathen 
king3.  Erman4  tells  us  that  'an  ancient  sacred  [Egyptian] 
book,  describing  the  life  of  the  deceased  Pharaoh  in  bliss, 
assures  him  .  .  .  that  in  heaven  he  will  "  at  his  pleasure  take 
the  wives  away  from  their  husbands."  '  Theoretically,  even  in 
this  life,  "according  to  ancient  ideas,  all  the  wives  of  his  subjects 
were  his ' ;  we  are  further  told  that,  '  Besides  the  chief  roya'i 
consort,  and  other  consorts,  the  Pharaoh  possessed  a  harem5.' 

gfo  thy  way:  leave  the  countr}'.  Verse  20  and  xiii.  2 
seem  to  imply  that  Abram  was  allowed  to  retain  the  presents  he 
had  received. 

1  Erman,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  Eng.  tr.,  p.  493. 

2  A  picture  of  the  impression  of  a  seal  from  Nubia,  described  '  as 
the  only  known  Egyptian  representation  of  a  camel,'  is  given  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  xxiv.  309;  but 
the  note  does  not  mention  the  period  to  which  the  seal  is  supposed  to 
belong. 

3  Gen.  xx.  6,  xxvi.  S. 

*  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  Eng.  tr.,  p.  155. 
5  Erman,  ibid.,  p.  73  f. 


GENESIS  13.  i-7.     JPJ  181 

gave  men  charge  concerning  him  :  and  they  brought  him 
on  the  way,  and  his  wife,  and  all  that  he  had. 

And  Abram  went  up  out  of  Egypt,  he,  and  his  wife,  13 
and  all  that  he  had,  and  Lot  with  him,  into  the  South. 
And  Abram  was  very  rich  in  cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold.  2 
And  he  went  on  his  journeys  from  the  South  even  to  3 
Beth-el,  unto  the  place  where  his  tent  had  been  at  the 
beginning,  between  Beth-el  and  Ai ;  unto  the  place  of  4 
the  altar,  which  he  had  made  there  at  the  first :    and 
there  Abram  called  on  the  name  of  the  Lord.     And  Lot  5 
also,  which  went  with  Abram,  had  flocks,  and  herds,  and 
tents.     [P  ]  And  the  land  was  not  able  to  bear  them,  that  6 
they  might  dwell  together  :  for  their  substance  was  great, 
so  that  they  could  not  dwell  together.    [J]  And  there  was  7 
a  strife  between  the  herdmen  of  Abram's  cattle  and  the 


20.  charge  concerning  him  .   .   .  brought  him  on  the  way. 

Pharaoh  instructed  his  officers  to  escort  Abram  safely  out  of  Egypt, 
and  the  instructions  were  carried  out. 

xiii.  1.     South:  see  xii.  9. 

xiii.  3-18.  The  Separation  or  Abram  and  Lot  (J  and  P  .  This 
section  is  important,  because  it  preserves  a  tradition  that  the 
Hebrew  tribes,  shortly  after  their  arrival  in  Canaan,  broke  up  into 
two  groups.  One  of  these  (Abram)  became  nomads  in  Western 
Palestine,  the  other  Lot,  Moab,  Ammoiv  settled  in  cities  in 
Eastern  Palestine. 

xiii.  3-5.  Primitive  Document.  Abram  and  Lot  return  to 
Beth-el. 

3.  from  the  South  even  to  Beth-el :  retracing  the  route  by 
which  he  had  gone  to  Egypt,  cf.  xii.  8,  9. 

6.  Priestly  Document.  Abram  and  Lot  too  rich  in  flocks  and 
herds  to  live  together. 

6.  not  able  to  bear  them  :  i.  e.  to  furnish  water  and  pasture 
for  their  numerous  flocks  and  herds. 

xiii.  7-nrt1.  Primitive  Document.  The  herdmen  quarrel. 
Abram  allows  Lot  to  choose,  and  Lot  takes  the  Plain  of  Jordan. 

7.  strife  between   the  herdmen:  probably  about  the  water, 


As  far  as  '  journeyed  east. 


182  GENESIS  13.  8-10.     J 

herdmen  of  Lot's  cattle :    and  the  Canaanite  and  the 

8  Perizzite  dwelled  then  in  the  land.  And  Abram  said 
unto  Lot,  Let  there  be  no  strife,  I  pray  thee,  between 
me  and  thee,  and  between  my  herdmen  and  thy  herd- 

9  men  ;  for  we  are  brethren.  Is  not  the  whole  land  before 
thee  ?  separate  thyself,  I  pray  thee,  from  me  :  if  thou 
wilt  take  the  left  hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  right ;  or  if 

io  thou  take  the  right  hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  left.  And 
Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  beheld  all  the  Plain  of  Jordan, 
that  it  was  well  watered  every  where,  before  the  Lord 
destroyed  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  like  the  garden  of  the 

cf.  verse  io  ;  the  quarrels  of  Isaac's  herdmen  with  the  men  of 
Gerar  about  the  wells,  xxvi.  15  ff.  ;  and  the  way  in  which  the 
shepherds  drove  the  daughters  of  the  priest  of  Midian  from  .the 
wells,  Exod.  ii.  17.  Wells  are  still  a  common  subject  of  contention 
amongst  Arab  tribes. 

and  the  Canaanite  and  the  Perizzite,  &c.  Cf.  xii.  6.  The 
presence  of  these  settled  inhabitants  would  increase  the  difficulty 
of  providing  for  the  cattle.  The  Perizzites  are  sometimes 
regarded  as  the  name  of  a  tribe,  apparently  from  this  passage, 
dwelling  about  Beth-el,  and  perhaps  belonging  to  the  aboriginal 
population  older  than  the  Semitic  Canaanites  ;  and  sometimes  as 
the  inhabitants  of  the  perazoth  or  open  villages,  as  distinguished 
from  the  dwellers  in  towns. 

8.  brethren:  kinsfolk. 

9.  Is  not  the  whole  land  before  thee  ?  Abram  speaks  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  nomad — '  the  whole  land  '  refers  only  to 
the  unoccupied  country  where  they  could  pasture  their  cattle 
without  interfering  with  the  settled  population. 

if  thou  wilt  take  the  left  hand,  &c.  As  the  demand  for 
separation  came  from  Abram,  he  offered  Lot  the  choice  of 
country,  in  accordance  with  the  profuse  but  somewhat  conven- 
tional courtesy  of  the  East. 

10.  Plain,  R.  V.  marg..  'Circle  of  the  Jordan,'  the  plain  into 
which  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  widens  out  at  the  north  of  the 
Dead  Sea. 

well  watered,  &c.  Perhaps  the  author  dwells  on  the 
desirability  of  the  district  in  order  to  emphasize  the  generosity 
of  Abram  and  the  grasping  nature  of  Lot.  Oriental  etiquette 
does  not  countenance  a  prompt  acceptance  of  munificent  offers  in 
a  literal  sense. 

Sodom  and  Gomorrah.     Cf.  x.  19,  xix. 


GENESIS  13.  n-13.     JPJ  183 

Lord,  like  the  land  of  Egypt,  as  thou  goest  unto  Zoar. 
So  Lot  chose  him  all  the  Plain  of  Jordan;   and  Lot  11 
journeyed  east :     [P]  and  they  separated  themselves  the 
one  from  the  other.     Abram  dwelled   in   the  land   of  12 
Canaan,  and  Lot  dwelled   in  the  cities   of   the  Plain, 
[J]  and  moved  his  tent  as  far  as  Sodom.     Now  the  men  13 
of  Sodom  were  wicked  and  sinners  against  the  Lord 

the  garden  of  the  LORD  :  Eden. 

Egypt :  always  celebrated  for  its  great  fertility. 

as  thou  goest  unto  Zoar.  Probably  this  clause  came 
originally  immediately  after  '  every  where,'  the  intervening  words 
being  editorial  notes  added  afterwards.  The  clause  would  then 
mean  'as  far  as  Zoar.'  Zoar  is  usually  mentioned,  as  here,  in 
connexion  with  Sodom  and  Gomorrah l.  Zoar  is  usually  located 
at  the  south-east  end  of  the  Dead  Sea  ;  and,  if  this  is  correct,  the 
author's  idea  seems  to  be  that  before  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah  the  Dead  Sea  did  not  exist,  but  that  a  well-watered 
plain  extended  over  the  whole  area  as  far  as  this  Zoar.  In  Deut. 
xxxiv.  3,  Moses,  surveying  the  Promised  Land,  is  shown  'the  Plain 
of  the  valley  of  Jericho  .  .  .  unto  Zoar.'  The  phrase  suggests 
that  Zoar  was  north  of  the  Dead  Sea,  but  it  may  be  a  reminiscence 
of  our  passage  in  its  original  form. 

Some  texts  of  the  Syriac  Version  read  '  Zoan '  for  Zoar.  If  this 
were  correct,  '  as  thou  goest  to  Zoan '  would  qualify  '  in  the  land 
of  Egypt.'  Zoan  or  Tanis  was  an  important  Egyptian  city  in  the 
Delta,  on  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Nile. 

xiii.  11  bf  12  a  a.  Priestly  Document.  Separation  of  Abram 
and  Lot. 

xiii.  i2&3-i8.  Primitive  Document.  The  wickedness  of  the 
men  of  Sodom.  YahweWs  promise  to  Abram;  Abram  settles  at 
Mamre.     For  14-17  see  also  on  18. 

13.  the  men  of  Sodom  were  wicked  :  a  not  unusual  combina- 
tion of  material  prosperity  and  moral  corruption.  So  Agur 
prayed  that  he  might  not  be  given  riches,  i  Lest  I  be  full,  and 
deny  thee,  and  say,  Who  is  Yahweh  ?  *'  This  verse  prepares 
the  way  for  the  account  of  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
in  chapter  xix. 

sinners  against  the   LORD  :    not  through  idolatry  or  the 

,  '  So  Gen.  xiv.  2,  8,  xix.  23-30,   which  see.     Zoar  is  mentioned 

separately,  Deut.  xxxiv.  3,  Isa.  xv.  5,  Jer.  xlviii.  34. 
2  From  '  and  they  separated '  to  '  cities  of  the  Plain.5 
s  From  '  and  moved  his  tent.'  *  Prov.  xxx.  8,  9. 


1 84  GENESIS  13.  14-18.     J 

14  exceedingly.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Abram,  after  that 
Lot  was  separated  from  him,  Lift  up  now  thine  eyes,  and 
look  from  the  place  where  thou  art,  northward  and  south- 

15  ward  and  eastward  and  westward  :  for  all  the  land  which 
thou  seest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for  ever. 

16  And  I  will  make  thy  seed  as  the  dust  of  the  earth  :  so 
that  if  a  man  can  number  the  dust  of  the  earth,  then 

17  shall  thy  seed  also  be  numbered.  Arise,  walk  through 
the  land  in  the  length  of  it  and  in  the  breadth  of  it ;  for 

18  unto  thee  will  I  give  it.  And  Abram  moved  his  tent, 
and  came  and  dwelt  by  the  oaks  of  Mamre,  which  are  in 
Hebron,  and  built  there  an  altar  unto  the  Lord. 

worship  of  '  other  gods,'  but,  as  chapter  xix  shows,  through  gross 
immorality.  Our  author  thinks  of  such  sins,  even  when  committed 
by  Gentiles,  as  sins  against  Yahweh  ;  just  as  he  speaks  of  Nimrod 
as  a  mighty  hunter  '  before  Yahweh.'  Thus  even  in  the  Primitive 
Document  Yahweh'' s  activity  and  authority  are  not  altogether 
limited  to  Israel. 

14.  the  LORD  said  unto  Abram.  Lot  had  taken  an  unfair 
advantage  of  Abram's  generosity,  and  left  him  with  the  worst  of 
the  bargain.    Yahweh  chooses  this  moment  to  renew  His  promise. 

the  place  where  thou  art.     See  verse  3. 

15.  all  the  land  whichjjhou  ssest.  Dean  Stanley1  described 
the  view  thus  :  '  To  the  east  there  rises  in  the  foreground  the 
jagged  range  of  the  hills  above  Jericho  ;  in  the  distance  the  dark 
wall  of  Moab  ;  between  them  lies  the  wide  valley  of  the  Jordan. 
...  To  the  south  and  the  west  the  view  commanded  the  bleak 
hills  of  Judaea,  varied  by  the  heights  crowned  with  what  were 
afterwards  the  cities  of  Benjamin,  and  overhanging  what  in  a  later 
day  was  to  be  Jerusalem,  and  in  the  far  distance  the  southern  range 
on  whose  slope  is  Hebron.  Northward  are  the  hills  which  divide 
Judaea  from  the  rich  plains  of  Samaria.1  We  must  not,  however, 
suppose  that  the  promise  is  to  be  limited  to  what  could  actually 
be  seen  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Beth-el,  it  was  no  doubt 
a  poetic  way  of  describing  the  whole  of  the  Promised  Land.  Cf. 
below. 

17.  walk  through  the  land:   to  survey  it  more  closely  and 

thoroughly,  and  perhaps  also,  in  a  fashion,  to  take  possession  of  it., 

the  oaks,  R.  V.  marg.,  'terebinths  of  Mamre.1     Sacred  tree/I 

1  Sinai  and  Palestine,  p.  218. 


GENESIS  14.  i.     ?  185 

[}]  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  days  of  Amraphel  king  14 

in  the  sanctuary  which  local  tradition  claimed  to  have  been 
founded  by  Abram,  see  on  xii.  7.  Josephus  speaks  of  a  large 
terebinth  near  Hebron  as  old  as  the  world  ;  and  the  church 
historian  Sozomen,  c.  a.  d.  450,  says  that  this  terebinth  was  the 
scene  of  a  yearly  feast  and  fair1.  The  exact  position  of  Mamre  is 
not  known. 

Hebron  :  in  the  highlands  of  Judah  to  the  south  of  Jerusalem. 
The  succeeding  chapters  2  imply  that  Abram  settled  for  some  time 
at  Mamre  ;  and  nothing  is  said  anywhere  of  his  walking  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  Hence  verses  14-17  are  often 
regarded  as  a  later  insertion. 

xiv.     The  Rescue* of  Lot.    (Unknown  Source.) 

1-12.  Four  kings  from  the  East  defeat  the  kings  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah  and  their  allies,  spoil  their  cities,  and  carry  Lot 
captive. 

13-16.  Abram  pursues  and  defeats  the  invaders,  rescues  Lot, 
and  recovers  the  plunder. 

17.     The  king  of  Sodom  meets  Abram. 

18-20.  Melchizedek,  king  of  Salem,  meets  Abram,  and  blesses 
him.     Abram  pays  him  tithes. 

21-24.  Abram  refuses  the  offer  of  the  king  of  Salem  that  he 
should  retain  the  plunder  he  had  recovered. 

(a)  Archaeology.  In  this  chapter  we  again  come  in  contact  with 
Babylonian  records,  not,  as  heretofore,  with  mythology,  but  with 
history.  We  may  regard  it  as  certain  that  Chedorlaomer  and  his 
allies3  were  actual  historical  personages^,  that  Elam  at  one  period 
was  the  dominant  power  in  the  lands  east  of  the  Euphrates,  as 
implied  in  verses  5,  9,  and  17  ;  and  that,  in  the  same  period,  the 
dominant  power  in  those  Eastern  lands  claimed  and  sometimes 
exercised  a  certain  supremacy  in  Palestine,  which  was  enforced 
occasionally  by  such  warlike  expeditions  as  the  one  described 
here.  It  is  also  not  improbable  that  the  four  Eastern  kings  men- 
tioned here  were  contemporaries,  and  that  Elam  was  the  domi- 
nant power  in  their  time.  So  far  the  inscriptions  confirm  this 
chapter,  but  no  further. 

No  inscription  at  present  published  mentions  a  joint  expedition 
of  these  four  Eastern  kings  against  Palestine,  or  any  expedition 
against  Sodom,  Gomorrah,  and  the  allied  towns,  or  indeed  any 
expedition  which  can  possibfy  be  identified  with  the  campaign 
described  in  this  chapter.  Nor  does  any  inscription  mention 
Abram,  Lot,  or  Melchizedek. 

Hence  archaeology  by  itself  does  not  at  present  establish  the 

1  'Mamre,'  Encycl.  Bibl.  2  Gen.  xiv.  13,  xviii.  1. 

3  Cf.  notes  on  the  separate  verses. 


1 86  GENESIS  14.  i.     ? 

of  Shinar,  Arioch  king  of  Ellasar,  Chedorlaomer  king  of 

historicity  of  the  whole  chapter.  It  is  true,  as  we  have  said,  that 
certain  kings  mentioned  here  are  shown  to  be  historical  per- 
sonages ;  but  we  cannot  therefore  conclude  that  the  whole  account 
is  accurate  history,  any  more  than  we  can  argue  that  Sir  Walter 
Scott's  Anne  of  Geierstein  is  throughout  a  correct  account  of  actual 
events  because  we  know  that  Charles  the  Bold  and  Margaret  of 
Anjou  were  real  people. 

{b\  Source.  Critics  are  agreed  that  this  chapter  does  not  belong 
to  any  one  of  the  main  sources  of  the  Pentateuch.  In  the 
Primitive,  the  Elohistic,  and  the  Priestly  Documents,  Abram  is  a 
peaceful  wanderer  ;  and  in  J  and  E  he  owes  much  of  his  wealth  to 
the  gifts  of  heathen  kings,  Pharaoh  and  Abimelech  1 ;  here  he  is  a 
mighty  warrior  who  disdains  the  offers  of  the  king  of  Sodom,  lest 
he  should  sa}',  'I  have  made  Abram  rich.'  These  documents  show 
no  trace  of  any  acquaintance  with  this  episode  ;  and  our  chapter 
has  none  of  the  characteristic  ideas  and  language  of  the  docu- 
ments, only  there  are  some  of  the  terms  of  the  Priestly  Document, 
probably  due  to  the  final  editor,  who  writes  very  much  in  the 
style  of  a  Priestly  author. 

Accordingly  we  must  suppose  that  the  Editor  met  with  this 
chapter  as  a  separate,  independent  narrative  ;  and  inserted  it  here 
as  its  most  suitable  place. 

(c)  Origin  and  Character  of  the  Narrative.  The  archaeological 
evidence  is  not  conclusive  on  these  questions,  but  leaves  ample 
room  for  differences  of  opinion,  so  that  scholars  hold  widely 
divergent  views  on  the  subject. 

As  '  Hebrew '  is  not  commonly  used  of  Israelites  by  them- 
selves, but  only  by  foreigners,  the  application  of  this  term  to 
Abram  2  may  indicate  that  the  narrative  was  originally  written 
by  a  non- Israelite.  Accordingly  it  has  been  suggested  that  the 
narrative  may  be  derived  from  some  Canaanite  record,  possibly 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  Jerusalem.  Such  a  view  would  be 
a  possible  way  of  accounting  for  the  details  about  Abram  and 
Melchizedek,  and  would  not  be  inconsistent  with  the  presence 
of  terms  and  details3  which  seem  to  belong  to  the  latest  period  of 
Biblical  Literature — these  may  be  due  to  an  editor4. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible  that  the  information  about 
Elam,  &c,  was  derived  from  Babylonian  records  during  or  after 
the  exile,  and  combined  with  some  traditions  as  to  Abram  and 
Melchizedek.  Thus  it  has  been  suggested s  that  the  chapter 
includes  material  from  Babylonian,  Israelite,  and  Canaanite 
sources.     Scholars  are  divided  as  to  the  historical  value  of  the 

1  Gen.  xii.  16,  xx.  14.  2  Verse  13. 

3  See  for  instance  on  verse  14.  4  Cf.  above.  5  Gunkel. 


GENESIS  14.  2.     ?  187 

Elam,  and  Tidal  king  of  Goiim,  that  they  made  war  with** 

chapter.  Some  are  inclined  to  accept  it  as  substantially  a  record 
of  facts ;  others  find  little  or  nothing  historical  beyond  the  names 
of  the  Four  Kings  ;  while  others  occupy  positions  intermediate 
between  these  extremes. 

The  section  about  Melchizedek.  verses  18-20,  is  often  regarded 
as  a  later  addition.  It  interrupts  the  connexion  ;  verse  21  seems 
to  be  the  immediate  continuation  of  verse  17  ;  cf.  the  notes  on 
this  section. 

1.  Amraphel:  usually  identified  with  Hammurabi,  a  Baby- 
lonian king  known  to  us  from  the  inscriptions.  Numerous  letters 
and  inscriptions  of  Hammurabi  have  been  discovered,  including 
forty -six  dispatches  (inscribed  tablets  of  baked  clay)  to  a  high 
official  or  tributary  prince.  'Hammurabi,'  we  are  told1,  'is 
already  known,  from  the  date  on  a  Babylonian  contract,  to  have 
succeeded  in  defeating  the  Elamites  in  the  course  of  his  reign, 
and  this  fact  would  not  be  inconsistent  with  his  having  been 
Chedorlaomer's  ally  during  the  earlier  part  of  his  reign,  to  which 
period  the  narrative  in  Gen.  xiv  would,  on  this  assumption,  be 
referred.'  It  is  a  little  curious  that  in  this  list  Amraphel  is 
mentioned  first,  whereas  in  the  rest  of  the  chapter  Chedorlaomer 
is  either  placed  first  or  is  the  only  name  mentioned.  Hammurabi 
is  usually  dated  between  b.  c.  2300  and  b.  c.  2200,  whereas  the 
Biblical  statements  would  fix  the  date  of  Abram  about  b.c.  1900. 
As,  however,  these  chronological  statements  represent  late  theories 
and  not  ancient  tradition,  they  are  not  a  serious  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  the  identification  of  Amraphel  and  Hammurabi2.  Cf. 
further  on  Chedorlaomer. 
Shinar.     See  on  x.  10. 

Arioch  king-  of  Ellasar :  usually  identified  with  Rim-sin  or 
Eri-aku  son  of  Kudur-mabug,  a  king  of  Larsa  of  Elamite  descent, 
contemporary  of  Hammurabi.  Names  bearing  some  similarit}'  to 
Arioch,  Tidal,  and  Chedorlaomer  have  been  found  on  a  cuneiform 
tablet  written  not  earlier  than  the  fourth  century  B.C. 3.  i.  e.  about 
1800  years  after  the  time  of  Hammurabi.  This  tablet  may  be 
a  copy  from  older  records.  In  Dan.  ii.  15  we  meet  with  a 
Babylonian  courtier  called  Arioch.  In  Judith  i.  6  an  '  Arioch  king 
of  the  Elymaeans '  appears  in  alliance  with  '  Nebuchadnezzar, 
who  reigned  over  the  Assyrians  in  Nineveh.' 

1  L.  W.  King,  Letters  and  Inscriptions  of  Hammurabi,  I.  xxvii. 

2  Neither  the  identification  nor  the  date  are  certain.  Hommel, 
for  instance,  sacrifices  the  Babylonian  data  to  the  Biblical,  and  places 
Hammurabi  about  B.  C.  1900.  Holzinger  makes  him  still  later, 
B.  c.  1700-1650. 

3  King,  ibid* 


188  GENESIS  14.  2.     ? 

Bera  king  of  Sodom,  and  with  Birsha  king  of  Gomorrah, 

Ellasar  :  the  Larsa  of  the  inscriptions,  the  modern  Senkereh, 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  Euphrates  in  Southern  Babylonia,  in  the 
time  before  Hammurabi's  victories  over  Elam,  an  Elamite  de- 
pendency, ruled  by  an  Elamite  dynasty. 

Chedorlaomer.  This  name  has  not  yet  been  found  in  the 
inscriptions,  but  it  is  composed  of  two  elements,  each  of  which  is 
known  from  the  inscriptions  to  be  Elamite.  Chedor  ==  Kudur, 
which  according  to  Sayce  means  '  servant,'  and  occurs  in  the 
names  of  the  Elamite  kings.  Kudur-mabuk,  and  Ktidur-nanhitndi. 
Laomer  (in  the  Septuagint  Logomor)  —  Lagamar,  an  Elamite 
deity.  It  was  at  one  time  supposed  that  Kudur-Iagamar  could  be 
read  in  one  of  Hammurabi's  letters  \  but  this  has  been  shown  to 
be  a  mistake  2.  The  late  post-exilic  tablet  mentioned  above  under 
Arioch  contains  a  name  Ku-ku-kn-nial  or  Ku-ku-kit-ku-mai,  which 
might  be  read  as  Ku-dur-ku-mal  or  Kn-dur-kii-ku-mal6,  and  has 
sometimes  been  supposed  to  be  a  form  of  Kudur-lagamar.  The 
position  of  the  question  may  be  summed  up  thus,  '  So  far  as  the 
composition  of  the  name  is  concerned,  therefore,  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  inscriptions  should  not  contain  a  reference  to 
Chedorlaomer,  king  of  Elam.  Moreover,  Elam  at  the  period  of 
the  First  Dynasty  was  the  chief  foe  of  Babylonia,  and,  until 
finally  defeated  by  Hammurabi,  had  for  many  years  been  the  pre- 
dominant power  in  Western  Asia.  The  state  of  affairs  at  this 
period,  therefore,  may  without  difficulty  be  harmonized  with  the 
events  described  in  Gen.  xiv,  and  it  would  not  be  surprising  if 
the  name  of  Kudnr-Lagamar,  or  Chedorlaomer,  should  be  found 
as  that  of  a  king  of  Elam  in  an  inscription  of  the  Old  Babylonian 
period.  Up  to  the  present  time,  however,  no  such  discovery  has 
been  made4.' 

Elam.     See  on  x.  22. 

Tidal :  Septuagint  That  gal,  not  yet  discovered  in  the  in- 
scriptions. In  the  late  tablet  mentioned  in  the  previous  notes  there 
is  a  Tu-ud-hid-a  son  of  Gaz  .  .  .  5,  sometimes  supposed  to  be  Tidal. 
But  as  this  name  occurs  in  company  with  others  that  are  historical, 
we  may  believe  that  this  name  also  is  that  of  an  actual  person, 
and  may  at  any  time  be  discovered  in  some  ancient  inscription. 

Goiim  ma}'  be  read  as  a  proper  name,  or,  as  in  R.  V.  marg., 
a  common  noun,  'nations.'     It  is  probably  a  case  where  an  un- 

1  So  Scheil,  Hommel,  &c.  2  King,  Letters,  Zfc,  I.  xxvi.  ff. 

3  King,  ibid.  I.  liv.  f. 

4  King,  ibid.  lvi.  Holzinger,  however,  as  a  consequence  of  the 
late  date  he  assigns  to  Hammurabi,  maintains  that  the  situation 
implied  in  Gen.  xiv  cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  history. 

5  The  end  of  the  word  is  illegible. 


GENESIS  14.  3-5.     ?  189 

Shinab  king  of  Admah,  and  Shemeber  king  of  Zeboiim, 
and  the  king  of  Bela  (the  same  is  Zoar).     All  these  joined  3 
together  in  the  vale  of  Siddim  (the  same  is  the  Salt  Sea). 
Twelve  years  they  served   Chedorlaomer,    and   in   the  4 
thirteenth  year  they  rebelled.      And  in  the  fourteenth  5 
year  came  Chedorlaomer,  and  the  kings  that  were  with 

familiar  foreign  name  has  been  given  the  form  of  a  well-known 
native  word  ;  as  with  us  Boulogne  Gate  became  '  Bull  and  Gate.' 
Goiim  is  often  identified  with  Gutium.  Kurdistan,  to  the  north  of 
Babylonia. 

2.  they  made  war  with  .  .  .  king  of  Sodom,  &c.  Verses 
4  and  5  tell  us  that  these  kings  were  tributary  to  Chedorlaomer 
for  twelve  years,  that  then  they  rebelled,  and  Chedorlaomer 
assembled  his  allies  or  dependent  princes  and  marched  westward 
to  subdue  the  rebels  ;  cf.  Hezekiah  and  Sennacherib,  Zedekiah 
and  Nebuchadnezzar.  No  inscription  mentioning  these  proceed- 
ings of  the  Elamite  king  and  his  allies  has  yet  been  published  ; 
but  as  Hammurabi  claims  to  be  king  of  Amttrru.  i.  e.  probably 
Syria  and  Palestine,  we  can  easily  believe  that  the  Elamites,  his 
predecessors  in  the  supremacy  of  Western  Asia,  levied  tribute 
from  Syria,  and  had  occasion  to  collect  it  by  force  of  arms. 

Bera  .  .  .  Birsha  .  .  .  Shinab  .  .  .  Shemeber.  None  of 
these  names  are  now  extant  anywhere  else,  but  it  is  quite  prob- 
able that  the  author  of  this  chapter  found  them  in  ancient 
records. 

Sodom,  &c.  For  the  five  cities  see  on  x.  19,  xiii.  10.  Bela, 
as  a  name  of  Zoar,  only  occurs  here  and  in  verse  8.  The  name  of 
its  king  is  omitted,  perhaps  we  should  read  '  Bela,  king  of  Zoar.' 

3.  All  these  joined  together  :  i.e.  the  five  kings,  of  Sodom,  &c, 
made  the  vale  of  Siddim  their  rendezvous.  The  very  improbable 
R.  V.  marg.  '  All  these  gathered  themselves  together  against  the 
vale  of  Siddim !  would  mean  that  Chedorlaomer  and  his  allies 
united  in  order  to  attack  the  vale  of  Siddim.  In  either  case  this 
verse  comes  in  very  awkwardly,  it  anticipates  verse  8,  and  may 
be  a  later  addition. 

the  vale  of  Siddim  (the  same  is  the  Salt  Sea).  The  vale 
of  Siddim  is  only  mentioned  in  this  chapter.  The  author  of  this 
verse  supposed  that  the  district  of  Sodom,  &c,  which  is  called  in 
this  chapter  the  vale  of  Siddim,  had  been  submerged  by  the 
waters  of  the  Salt  (Dead)  Sea,  cf.  on  chapter  xix. 

4.  Cf.  2  Kings  xxiv.  1,  'Jehoiakim  became  his  servant  three 
years;  then  he  turned  and  rebelled  against  him.' 

served,  paid  tribute. 

5.  in  the  fourteenth  year  came  Chedorlaomer.     Cf.  2  Kings 


igo  GENESIS  14.  5.     > 

him,  and  smote  the  Rephaim  in  Ashteroth-karnaim,  and 
the  Zuzim  in  Ham,  and  the  Emim  in  Shaveh-kiriathaim, 

xviii.  13,  'in  the  fourteenth  year  of  king  Hezekiah  did  Senna- 
cherib .  .  .  come  up.'  The  account  of  Chedorlaomer's  campaign 
bears  some  general  resemblance  to  that  of  Holofernes  in  Judith 
ii.  21-28. 

5,  6.  Rephaim  .  .  .  Zuzim  .  .  .  Emim  .  .  .  Horites.  These 
tribes  are  referred  to  in  Deut.  ii.  10-12,  20,  21  as  aboriginal  in- 
habitants of  the  territories  afterwards  held  by  Edom,  Moab,  and 
Ammon  ;  so  that  our  narrative  is  consistent  with  Deuteronomy  in 
placing  these  tribes  in  the  land  before  the  birth  of  Edom,  Moab, 
and  Ammon.  The  passages  in  Deuteronomy  however  are  archaeo- 
logical notes  by  an  exilic  or  post-exilic  writer,  so  that  an  author 
of  that  late  period  would  have  thought  of  the  Rephaim,  &c,  as  in- 
habiting Eastern  Palestine  in  the  time  of  Abraham.  The  Zuzim 
are  called  in  Deuteronomy  'Zamzummim.'  The  Emim  and  the 
Zuzim  or  Zamzummim  are  only  mentioned  in  these  two  passages  ; 
the  Horites  are  also  referred  to  in  Gen.  xxxvi.  20-29,  and  may 
have  been  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  cave-dwellings  found  at 
Petra  and  elsewhere  in  the  mountains  of  Edom. 

Ashteroth-karnaim,  only  mentioned  here,  possibly  the 
same  as  Ashtaroth,  the  capital  of  Og,  king  of  Bashan  1 ;  and  also 
the  same  as  Carnaim  or  Camion  in  Amos  and  the  Books  of 
Maccabees*.  Eusebius  and  Jerome  mention  two  places  in  Bashan 
known  in  their  time  as  Ashteroth-karnaim.  There  have  been 
found  in  Bashan  two  sites  Tell  'Ashtarah  and  Tell  el  Ash'ari,  one 
or  other  of  which  may  be  the  city  of  the  Rephaim.  At  any  rate 
this  place  was  in  Bashan.  The  name  signifies  Ashtaroth  or 
Astarte  of  the  Two  Horns  ;  the  latter  either  referring  to  the 
form  under  which  the  goddess  was  represented,  or  to  two  hills  on 
which  the  city  was  built.  The  name  implies  that  the  city 
possessed  a  famous  sanctuary  of  Astarte. 

Ham.  The  Hebrew  initial  of  this  word  is  different  from  that 
of  Ham,  the  son  of  Noah.  This  place  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere  ; 
the  name  may  be  a  corruption,  hardly  however  of  Ammon. 

Shaveh-kiriathaim,  R.  V.  marg.,  'the  plain  of  Kiriathaim.' 
Kiriathaim  is  i  the  Two  Towns  ' ;  there  was  a  city  of  this  name 
in  Moab,  north  of  the  Arnon,  said  to  have  been  built  by  the 
Reubenites3. 


1  Deut.  i.  4,  &c. 

2  In  Amos  vi.  13  we  should  probably  read  '  Karnaim '  where  R.  V. 
has  '  horns.'     Cf.  1  Mace.  v.  26,81c;  2  Mace.  xii.  21. 

3  Num.  xxxii.  37. 


GENESIS  14.  6-8.     ?  191 

ai^;L  the- H°rites  in  their  mount  Seir,  unto  El-paran,  which  6 
is  by  the  wilderness.     And  they  returned,  and  came  to  7 
En-roisJ^pat  (the  same  is  Kadesh),  and  smote   all  the 
country  of  the  Amalekites,  and  also  the  Amorites,  that 
dwelt. 7*1  Hazazon-tamar.     And  there  went  out  the  king  8 

S.  in  their  mount  Seir.  This  curious  phrase  is  probably  due 
io>  corruption  of  the  text.  We  should  either  read  '  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Seir'  with  the  Septuagint  and  other  ancient  versions,  or 
Mn  their  mount ' — '  Seir '  having  been  added  as  an  explanatory 
note.  Seir  is  the  mountainous  district  to  the  south-east  of  the  Dead 
Sea  ;  the  name  is  often  used  to  denote  the  whole  territory  of  Edom. 

El-paran  :  also  known  as  Elaih,  the  port  at  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  eastern  horn  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  gulf  of  Akaba. 

the  wilderness  :  between  Canaan  and  Egypt. 
7.  they  returned  :  better  '  turned.'     So  far  they  had  marched 
through  Eastern  Palestine  from  the  north,  almost  due  southwards 
to  the  southernmost  point  of  what  was  afterwards  the  territory  of 
Edom.     Having  reached  the  sea,  they  turned  to  the  north-west. 

En-xnishpat  (the  same  is  Kadesh).  En-mishpat=--1  Well  of 
Judgement,'  Kadesh  =  '  Sanctuary,'  and  as  there  were  many 
sanctuaries  the  name  occurs  in  several  different  localities.  This 
Kadesh  is  Kadesh-barnea  on  the  south-east  frontier  of  Judah. 
After  leaving  Sinai  the  Israelites  made  this  place  their  head 
quarters  for  some  time  l.  The  double  name  given  here  indicates 
that  Kadesh  was  a  sanctuary  whose  priests  or  oracle  were  often 
referred  to  for  the  settlement  of  disputes.  It  is  now  identified 
with  an  'Ain  (Well  of)  Kadis  in  the  Wady  Kadis  in  the  district 
to  the  south-east  of  Judah. 

country  :  R.  V.  marg.  l  field  of  the  Amalekites  ' :  a  nomad 
people  whose  head  quarters  were  usually  the  desert  of  Sinai.  The 
Septuagint  and  Syriac  versions  have  '  princes 2  *  instead  of 
<  field  V 

Amorites.     See  on  x.  16. 

Hazazon-tamar.  7a;;mr^palm,  the  meaning  of  Hazazon  is 
uncertain.  In  2  Chron.  xx.  2,  the  only  other  passage  where  this 
place  is  mentioned,  Hazazon-tamar  is  said  to  be  En-gedi,  which  is 
identified  with  'Ain-gidi,  about  halfway  down  the  western  coast 
of  the  Dead  Sea.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  'Ain-gidi  there  is  a 
Wady  Hasasa  which  may  preserve  the  name  Hazazon.  Having 
reached  this  point  Chedorlaomer  and  his  allies  were  near  the 
Vale  of  Siddim,  whether  the  Vale  was  the  site  of  the  Salt  Sea,  as 
in  verse  3,  or  some  part  of  it,  or  in  its  immediate  neighbourhood. 

2  Sure.  3  Sadeh. 


192  GENESIS  14.  9-14.     ?  ¥£?4 

of  Sodom,   and   the  king  of  Gomorrah,  and  the  kftig', 
of  Admah,    and   the  king  •  of  Zeboiim,    and   the    king 
of  Bela   (the   same   is  Zoar) ;    and  they  set  the  baffle '*( 
9  in  array  against  them  in  the  vale  of  Siddim  ;    against 
Chedorlaomer  king  of  Elam,  and  Tidal  king  of  Gaum, 
and  Amraphel  king  of  Shinar,  and  Arioch  king  of  Eila- 

iosar;    four    kings    against    the    five.     Now   the  .y|Ie,^oft 
Siddim  was  full  of  slime  pits  ;  and  the  kings  of  Sodom 
and    Gomorrah    fled,    and    they   fell    there,    and    they 

n  that  remained  fled  to  the  mountain.  And  they  took  all 
the  goods  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  all  their  victuals, 

12  and  went  their  way.  And  they  took  Lot,  Abram's 
brother's  son,  who  dwelt  in  Sodom,  and  his  goods,  and 

13  departed.  And  there  came  one  that  had  escaped,  and 
told  Abram  the  Hebrew  :  now  he  dwelt  by  the  oaks  of 
Mamre  the  Amorite,  brother  of  Eshcol,  and  brother  of 

14  Aner ;  and  these  were  confederate  with  Abram.     And 

10.  Apparently  some  account  of  the  battle  has  been  omitted, 
slime,  R.  V.  marg.  '  bitumen  pits.'     Cf.  xi.  3. 

the  kings  of  Sodom  :  cf.  on  verse  17. 
fell  there  :  i.  e.  sank  in  the  bitumen  and  were  suffocated. 
they  that  remained :    perhaps  the   other  three   conquered 
kings. 

11.  they  :  i.  e.  Chedorlaomer  and  his  allies. 

the  goods  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  Here,  again,  it  would 
seem  that  some  mention  of  the  capture  of  these  cities  has  been 
omitted.     This  verse  clearly  implies  that  they  were  sacked. 

12.  Lot,  Abram's  brother's  son,  who  dwelt  in  Sodom. 
This  explanation  shows  that  the  chapter  was  once  an  independent 
narrative.  Both  our  documents  have  already  told  us  that  Lot 
was  Abram's  nephew,  and  that  he  had  settled  in  Sodom. 

13.  Abram  the  Hebrew.     Cf.  (c    on  p.  186. 
oaks,  R.V.  marg.  'terebinths.' 

Mamre  . . .  Eshcol,  in  xiii.  18  (^ which  see)  and  xxiii.  17,19,  &c. ; 
and  in  Num.  xiii.  23,  24,  &c,  the  names  of  places  near  Hebron. 

Aner:  in  1  Chron.  vi.  70  the  name  of  a  city  in  Manasseh. 
Similarly  from  the  town  Hebron  the  Priestly  Document  derives 
a  person  Hebron,  the  '  father  '  of  the  Hebronites  l.    If  this  chapter 

1  Num.  iii.  19,  27,  &c. 


GENESIS  14.  i5.     ?  193 

# 
when  Abram  heard  that  his  brother  was  taken  captive, 
he  led  forth  his  trained  men,  born  in  his  house,  three 
hundred  and  eighteen,  and  pursued  as  far  as  Dan.  And 
he  divided  himself  against  them  by  night,  he  and  his 
servants,  and  smote  them,  and  pursued  them  unto  Hobah, 

is  historical,  Mamre,  Eshcol,  and  Aner  are  probably  due  to 
a  misunderstanding  on  the  part  of  a  late  editor,  and  do  not  belong 
to  the  ancient  tradition.  We  are  not  told  that  these  allies  did 
anything  ;  they  only  appear  on  the  scene  again  to  claim  their 
share  of  the  spoil x. 

14.  led  forth.  The  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  word  thus  trans- 
lated is  uncertain,  but  the  context  requires  some  such  expression. 
The  Septuagint  has  'mustered.' 

trained  men :  the  word  only  occurs  here,  and  means  literally 
'  dedicated.' 

bora  in  his  house :  i.  e.  slaves  born  in  Abram's  household 
and  not  bought ;  such  slaves  have  always  been  regarded  as 
specially  trustworthy. 

three  hundred  and  eighteen.  If  we  take  the  numerical 
values  of  the  consonants  -  of  the  name  Eliezer  33  and  add  them 
together  the  sum  is  318.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  this  is 
merely  an  accidental  coincidence,  or  that  the  name  Eliezer  was 
invented  for  Abram's  servant  because  its  consonants  gave  this 
number.  It  is  more  likely  that  an  ingenious  and  imaginative 
editor  obtained  the  number  from  the  consonants  of  Eliezer. 

Dan :  in  the  extreme  north  of  Palestine,  south  of  Mount 
Hermon.  As  this  town  was  called  Laish  till  it  was  conquered  by 
the  Danites 4  the  name  here  is  another  trace  of  the  work  of  a  late 
editor. 

15.  divided  himself  against  them:  i.e.  divided  his  fol- 
lowers into  several  bands,  so  that  they  might  attack  from  different 
quarters,  and  so  create  the  more  confusion  in  the  enemy,  and  give 
the  impression  of  being  a  large  force  ;  cf.  the  tactics  of  Gideon s. 

servants  :  slaves. 

smote  them,  and  pursued  them.  Some  scholars  cannot 
bring  themselves  to  believe  that  a  handful  of  armed  slaves  could 
rout  a  force  of  disciplined  soldiers  of  the  great  military  powers  of 

1  In  verse  24. 

2  In  ancient  Hebrew  only  the  consonants  were  written,  the  vowels 
were  added  after  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  Era. 

8  The  only  male  servant  of  Abram  who  is  mentioned  by  name 
(Gen.  xv.  2).  " 

*  Judges  xviii.  29.  '"  Judges  vii. 

O 


194  GENESIS  14.  16-18.     ? 

16  which  is  on  the  left  hand  of  Damascus.  And  he  brought 
back  all  the  goods,  and  also  brought  again  his  brother 
Lot,  and  his  goods,  and  the  women  also,  and  the  people. 

17  And  the  king  of  Sodom  went  out  to  meet  him,  after  his 
return  from  the  slaughter  of  Chedorlaomer  and  the  kings 
that  were  with  him,  at  the  vale  of  Shaveh   (the  same 

18  is  the  King's  Vale).     And  Melchizedek  king  of  Salem 

the  East.  But  the  discipline  of  these  ancient  soldiers  was  hardly 
on  a  level  with  that  of  a  modern  English  or  German  regiment ; 
eastern  armies  have  always  been  specially  subject  to  panic  ;  and 
a  night  attack  is  peculiarly  trying  to  the  nerves. 

Ho'oali :  not  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the  Bible.  The  Amarna 
tablets  speak  of  Damascus  as  '  in  the  land  of  Ubi '  ;  and  Hobah  is 
sometimes  identified  with  a  site  where  there  is  now  a  spring  called 
Hoba,  about  twenty  hours  north-west  of  Damascus  on  the  road  to 
Palmyra. 

left  hand:  i.e.  as  R.V.  marg.  'north,'  so  the  south  is  'the 
right  hand  '  ;  the  east,  the  ■  front ' ;  the  west,  '  behind.' 

Damascus :  an  important  political  and  commercial  city  from 
the  earliest  times  known  to  history.  It  is  mentioned  in  Egyptian 
inscriptions  of  the  time  of  Thothmes  III  (sixteenth  century  b.  c.) 
and  Rameses  II  (twelfth  century  b.  c),  and  in  the  Amarna 
tablets. 

17.  the  king"  of  Sodom.  According  to  verse  10  the  king  of 
Sodom  had  been  killed ;  but  this  verse  may  refer  to  his  sue- 
cessor. 

the  vale  of  Shaveh  (the  same  is  the  King's  Vale).  Shaveh 
=  ' plain,'  cf.  verse  5,  but  here  it  is  a  proper  name.  The  vale  of 
Shaveh  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere ;  but  the  King's  Vale  is 
mentioned  in  2  Sam,  xviii.  18  as  the  place  where  Absalom 
had  set  up  a  monument  to  himself.  The  site  has  not  been 
identified ;  but  somewhere  near  Jerusalem  would  suit  both 
passages. 

18.  Melchizedek  king-  of  Salem  .  .  .  priest  of  G-od  Most 
High.  Melchizedek  is  only  mentioned  here  and  in  Ps.  ex.  4 
and  Heb.  v-vii.  Ps.  ex  is  ascribed  to  David  by  its  title,  but 
is  commonly  regarded  as  of  much  later  origin,  and  is  often 
assigned  to  the  period  of  the  Maccabees.  In  Hebrews  the  phrase 
in  the  Psalm,  'a  high-priest  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek/  is 
applied  to  Christ  ;  and  so  Melchizedek  and  all  the  details  of  this 
episode  have  been  regarded  as  typical  of  Christ.  The  statements 
in  Hebreivs  that  Melchizedek  was  <  without  father,  without  mother, 
without  genealogy,  having  neither  beginning  of  days  nor  end  of 


GENESIS  14.  18.    ?  195 

brought  forth  bread  and  wine  :  and  he  was  priest  of  God 

life1,'  merely  mean  that  the  Scriptures  do  not  mention  his  ances- 
tors, parents,  birth,  or  death.  In  the  same  way  Philo  speaks 
of  Sarah  as  '  without  mother 3,'  because  her  mother  is  not 
named.  Thus  the  late  Professor  A.  B.  Davidson  wrote  of  Mel- 
chizedek, '  He  passes  over  the  stage,  a  king,  a  priest,  living. 
That  sight  of  him  is  all  that  we  ever  get.  This  is  what  Scrip- 
ture shows  us.  .  .  .  He  is  like  a  portrait,  having  always  the 
same  qualities,  presenting  always  the  same  aspect,  looking  down 
on  us  always  with  the  same  eyes  which  turn  and  follow  us, 
wherever  we  may  stand — always  royal,  always  priestly,  always 
living,  always  individual,  and  neither  receiving  nor  imparting 
what  he  is,   but  being  all  in  virtue  of  himself  V 

Melchizedek  is  explained  in  Hebrews  as  '  king  of  righteous- 
ness'; but  if  it  is  an  ancient  Canaanite  name,  Melchi-  and  prob- 
ably -zedek  are  divine  names  or  titles,  thus  ■  Melek  is  righteous- 
ness ' ;  'Zedek  te  king,'  or  'Melek  is  Zedek.'  There  are  traces 
of  a  Canaanite  deity  Sydyk,  and  the  name  Zedek-melek  has  been 
found.  In  Joshua  x.  1,  &c,  the  king  of  Jerusalem  is  Adoni- 
zedek 4,  and  Adon,  '  Lord,'  is  almost  synonymous  with  Melek, 
'  king,'  and  is  also  a  well-known  divine  name  or  title.  No 
mention  of  Melchizedek  has  yet  been  found  in  the  inscriptions 5. 

In  Philo  '  Melchiezedek  represents  the  power  of  rational 
persuasion  which  offers  to  the  soul  food  of  gladness  and  joy,  and 
so  in  some  sense  answers  to  the  priestly  Logos  B.'  It  does  not 
seem  that  Melchizedek  was  used  as  a  type  of  the  Messiah  by 
any  of  the  earlier  rabbinical  writers.  Speculation  has  sought  to 
make  up  for  the  silence  of  Scripture  by  suggesting  that  the 
mysterious  king  of  Salem  was  Shem,  or  an  incarnation  of  God 
the  Son,  or  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  narrative  in  verses  18-20  7  may  very  well  be  based 8  on 
an  account  of  some  ancient  Canaanite  priest-king,  whose  shrine 
was  regarded  with  exceptional  reverence.  Those  who  hold  that 
the  whole  narrative  is  unhistorical  would  take  Melchizedek, 
'king  of  righteousness,'  and  king  of  Salem,  'king  of  peace,'  as 
symbolical  titles,  very  much  as  they  are  used  in  Hebrews. 

Salem,  Peace,  probably  intended  for  the  name  of  a  place, 

1  Heb.  vii.  3.  a  Westcott  on  Heb.  vii.  3. 

3  Biblical  and  Literary  Essays,  p.  188. 

*  In  the  Septuagint,  and  in  Judges  i.  5,  &c     Adonibezek. 

5  Unsuccessful  attempts  have  been  made  to  discover  his  name,  or 
parallels  to  the  scriptural  language  used  of  him  in  the  references  to 
the  King  of  Jerusalem  in  the  Amarna  tablets. 

6  Westcott,  Hebrews,  201.  7  Cf.  (c)  p.  187. 
8  See  on  verse  19. 

O  2 


196  GENESIS  14.  19,20.     ? 

19  Most  High.     And  he  blessed  him,  and  said,  Blessed  be 
Abram  of  God  Most  High,  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth  : 

20  and  blessed  be  God  Most  High,  which  hath  delivered 

cf.  previous  note  ;  usually  identified  with  Jerusalem,  which  is  called 
Urusalim  in  the  Amarna  tablets  and  Salem  in  Ps.  lxxvi.  2  ;  and 
Jerusalem  might  very  well  be  on  the  route  of  an  army  returning 
from  the  north  of  Damascus,  and  would  not  be  very  far  from 
the  site  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  so  that  the  kings  might  come 
so  far  to  meet  Abram.  Jerome,  however,  identified  Salem  with 
a  place  Salumias,  the  modern  Sheikh  Salim  in  the  Jordan 
valley,  eight  miles  south  of  Scythopolis,  about  halfway  between 
the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Salem  has  also  been 
identified  with  various  other  sites  in  Palestine  which  now  bear 
the  name  Salim.  The  derivation  of  the  name  Jerusalem  is  not 
certainly  known.  It  very  probably  contains  a  divine  name  ; 
thus  the  Uru-salim  of  the  Amarna  tablets  has  been  interpreted 
as  'the  city  of  (the  god)  Salim.'  Of  course  the  Canaanite 
(Jebusite)  Jerusalem  contained  a  temple  or  temples  and  priests  ; 
but  nothing  outside  this  chapter  has  yet  been  discovered  to 
show  that  any  temple  at  Jerusalem  possessed  any  exceptional 
importance  before  the  times  of  David  and  Solomon. 

bread  and  wine :  royal  hospitality,  regarded  by  the  Jews  as 
symbols  of  the  shewbread  and  the  drink-offering,  or  even  of 
the  Law  ;  and  by  Christian  commentators  as  types  of  the  elements 
of  the  Eucharist. 

priest.  The  kings  of  Tyre  were  sometimes  priests,  and 
the  Maccabean  high-priests  were  also  kings  of  Judah. 

God  Most  High.  Hebrew  EL  ELYON.  El  Elyon  only 
occurs  once  x  outside  this  chapter,  but  we  find  Yahweh  Elyon  2, 
and  Elohim  Elyon 3,  which  may  be  corruptions  of  El  Elyon. 
The  simple  Elyon  occurs  frequently  as  a  divine  name  of  the 
God  of  Israel,  chiefly  in  the  Psalms.  Elyon  is  also  common  as  an 
ordinary  adjective  =  'high.'  To  post-exilic  Jews  the  use  of  this 
divine  name  would  indicate  that  Melchizedek  was  priest  of  the 
true  God— the  Maccabees  wsre  called  'high-priests  of  God  Most 
High.'  In  an  ancient  Canaanite  narrative  El  Elyon  would  be 
a  title  or  name  of  the  local  deity — Elioun  occurs  as  a  divine  name 
amongst  the  Phoenicians.  Cf.  verse  22. 
19.  blessed:  as  priest. 

God  Most  High,  possessor  (R.  V.  marg.  f  maker ')  of  heaven 
and  earth.  This  description  of  El  Elyon  is  most  remarkable  in 
the  mouth  of  a  Gentile  like  Melchizedek.  It  is  true  that  there 
are   stories  of  the    Creation    older   than    Hammurabi,     but    this 

1   Ps.  Ixxviii.  35.       2  Ps.  vii.  17,  xlvii.  2.      3  Ps.  lvii.  2,  lxxviii.  56. 


GENESIS  14.  21-23.     ?  197 

thine  enemies  into  thy  hand.     And  he  gave  him  a  tenth 
of  all.     And  the  king  of  Sodom  said  unto  Abram,  Give  ai 
me  the  persons,  and  take  the  goods  to  thyself.      And  22 
Abram  said  to  the  king  of  Sodom,  I  have  lift  up  mine 
hand  unto  the  Lord,  God  Most  High,  possessor  of  heaven 
and  earth,  that  I  will  not  take  a  thread  nor  a  shoelatchet  23 

phrase  implies  that  the  Gentile  priests  of  Jerusalem  believed 
in  a  creation  of  heaven  and  earth  by  one  God,  i.  e.  were  mono- 
theists.  It  was  doubtless  to  avoid  such  a  conclusion  that  some 
Jews  held  that  Melchizedek  was  Shem.  The  phrase  'maker1  of 
heaven  and  earth  '  is  found  in  the  Psalms2  ;  and  the  idea  of  crea- 
tion by  God  alone  is  emphasized  in  II  Isaiah s  and  other  exilic  and 
post-exilic  literature.  Possibly  the  clause  'possessor,  &c.,'  is 
a  later  addition. 

20.  he  gave  him  a  tenth  of  all,  probably  as  priest,  so 
Heb.  vii.  6.  Abram  thus  acknowledged  El  Ely  on  as  God,  and 
Melchizedek  as  His  priest.  We  shall  see  that  the  priests  of  the 
northern  sanctuary  of  Beth-el  could  support  their  claim  to  tithes  on 
the  precedent  that  Jacob  promised  to  pay  tithes  to  their  temple  *. 
But  the  narrative  here  would  provide  the  priests  of  Jerusalem  with 
a  stfll  earlier  precedent  for  the  payment  of  tithes  at  Jerusalem.  The 
difficulty  that  would  have  arisen  if  it  had  been  acknowledged  that 
Melchizedek  was  a  Gentile  was  probably  evaded,  as  in  later  times, 
by  identifying  him  with  Shem  or  some  other  ancestor  of  David. 
It  has  been  suggested  5  that  Psalm  ex  refers  to  some  Davidic  king 
who  claimed  to  be  the  successor  of  Melchizedek,  just  as  the 
German,  Austrian,  and  Russian  Emperors  call  themselves  Caesars, 
as  if  they  were  the  successors  of  the  Roman  Emperors  ;  and  as 
the  Greek  kings  of  Egypt  styled  themselves  Pharaohs.  The 
'  all '  of  which  a  tenth  was  given  may  be  the  recovered  booty  or 
Abram' s  own  property.  Probably  the  latter,  especially  if  17-20 
is  really  a  separate  story. 

21.  And  the  king-  of  Sodom  said.  These  words  are  the 
natural  continuation  of  verse  17. 

the  persons  whom  Abram  might  have  retained  or  sold  as 
slaves,  or  held  to  ransom. 

22.  the  LORD,  God  Most  High,  &c.  Expressly  identifying 
El  Elyon  with  Yahweh.  The  Samaritan  text,  however,  has  '  the 
Elohim  El  Elyon,'  and  the  Septuagint  omits  '  Lord.' 

23.  I  will  not  take,  &c.  In  xii.  16  Abram  accepts  gifts  from 
Pharaoh  under  false  pretences,  and  these  seem  to  be  spoken  of 

1  A  different  term  from  that  used  here.  2  Ps.  exxiv.  8,  &c. 

3  Isa.  xl.  &c.  4  Gen.  xxviii.  22.  5  Gunkel. 


198  GENESIS  14.  24—15.  1.     >J(E) 

nor  aught  that  is  thine,  lest  thou  shouldest  say,  I  have 
2\  made  Abram  rich  :  save  only  that  which  the  young  men 

have  eaten,  and  the  portion  of  the  men  which  went  with 

me ;    Aner,   Eshcol,  and   Mamre,   let   them   take   their 

portion. 
15      [J(E>]  After  these  things  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 

as  the  source  of  Abram's  wealth1;  in  xx.  14-16  Abram  accepts 
gifts  from  Abimelech.  There  is,  however,  a  difference  ;  the 
k  goods  ■  which  are  here  offered  to  Abram  had  originally  been 
the  property 2  of  the  men  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 

24.  save  only  that  which,  &c,  R.  V.  rnarg.  '  let  there  be 
nothing  for  me  ;  only  that,'  &c.  There  is  no  important  difference 
in  meaning  between  the  two  renderings.  The  margin  makes 
Abram's  refusal  more  emphatic.  The  whole  chapter  brings  out 
the  noble  qualities  of  Abram — his  prowess  and  courage,  his 
generosity  and  magnanimity. 

Aner,  Eshcol,  &c.     Cf.  verse   13.     The  order  of  the  names 
is  reversed. 

xv.  77?^  Covenant  with  Abram.  (A  composite  section  of  the 
work  compiled  from  the  Primitive  (J)  and  the  Elohistic  (E) 
Documents 3.) 

1-5.  Yahweh  in  a  vision  promises  to  Abram  a  son  and  count- 
less posterity. 

6.  Abram  believes,  and  his  faith  is  reckoned  to  him  for 
righteousness. 

7-1 1.  Abram  asks  for  a  sign,  and  Yahweh  bids  him  arrange 
the  divided  carcasses  of  animals  according  to  the  form  of  con- 
cluding a  covenant. 

12-16.  Abram  falls  into  a  trance,  and  Yahweh  announces  to 
him  the  bondage  in  Egypt,  the  Exodus,  and  the  conquest  of 
Canaan. 

17-21.  'A  smoking  furnace  and  a  flaming  torch'  pass  between 
the  halves  of  the  carcasses  ;  and  Yahweh  covenants  with  Abram 
to  give  to  his  seed  the  land  from  the  borders  of  Egypt  to  the 
Euphrates. 

Sources.  In  this  chapter  it  is  generally  held  that  we  meet 
with  certain  traces  of  the  Elohistic  Document  \  The  chapter  in 
the  form  in  which  wre  have  it  is  mainly  the  work  of  the  editor, 
who  combined  the  Primitive  and  the  Elohistic  Documents, 
though  some  small  portions  may  be  even  later.     We  shall  point 

1  Gen.  xiii.  2,  but  cf.  xii.  5.  2  Verse  1 1. 

3  See  pp.  g  ff.,  and  cf.  below  (a)  Sources.  4  Pp-  30  ff. 


GENESIS  15.  2.     J(E)  199 

unto  Abram  in  a  vision,  saying,  Fear  not,  Abram  :  I  am 
thy  shield,  and  thy  exceeding  great  reward.     And  Abram  2 
said,  O  Lord  God,  what  wilt  thou  give  me,  seeing  I  go 
childless,  and  he  that  shall  be  possessor  of  my  house  is 

out  in  the  notes  elements  supposed  to  be  Elohistic,  and  others 
attributed  to  the  editor  who  combined  the  two1;  but  it  is  not 
possible  to  fix  with  certainty  exactly  which  words  belong  to 
which  source. 

1.  The  word  of  the  LORD  came:  a  common  formula  in  the 
prophets,  especially  in  Jeremiah,  Jer.  i.  2,  &c.  The  Elohistic 
Document  (E) 2  speaks  of  Abram  as  a  prophet ;  but  would  not 
speak  of  'the  Lord,'  Yahweh. 

in  a  vision.  It  is  characteristic  of  E  that  revelations  are 
made  in  visions  or  dreams. 

Pear  not.     A  vision  of  God  would  cause  terror. 

I  am  thy  shield:  a  familiar  idea  in  the  Psalms ;;. 

and  thy  exceeding"  great  reward :  R.  V.  marg.  '  thy  reward 
shall  be  exceeding  great.1  The  'reward'  would  be  for  what  is 
referred  to  in  'these  things.'  In  the  Primitive  Document  we 
have  heard  of  Abram  building  altars  to  Yahweh  and  of  his 
generosity  to  Lot. 

2.  O  Xiord  GOD.  '  Lord'  here  is  not  the  Divine  name,  Yah- 
weh, hence  it  is  not  printed  in  capitals  in  the  English  version, 
but  a  translation  of  'Adonay,  lit.  'my  lords,'  used  as  a 
divine  name,  like  the  plural  Elohim.  It  was  thus  used  in  other 
Semitic  religions,  hence  the  familiar  Adonis,  a  Greek  form  of 
the  name  of  a  Syrian  deity.  God  is  printed  in  capitals  because 
it  represents  the  Divine  name  YHWH,  written  in  the  Hebrew 
MSS.  with  the  vowels  of  Elohim,  as  a  direction  to  the  reader 
to  read  Elohim,  and  not  to  attempt  to  pronounce  YHWH. 
Hence  we  should  translate  'O  Lord  Yahweh.'  The  phrase, 
therefore,  is  different  from  the  Yahweh  Elohim  of  chapters  ii,  iii, 
which  the  English  Version  renders  by  '  Lord  God  V  The  phrase 
'Adonay  Yahweh  is  only  found  in  the  Pentateuch  here  and  Deut. 
iii.  24,  ix.  26,  but  is  not  uncommon  elsewhere,  especially  in  Amos 
and  Ezekiel. 

I  go  (R.  V.  marg.  'go  hence'-  childless.  The  meaning  is 
that  suggested  by  R.  V.  marg.  '  I  go  hence,  out  of  this  lifej 
childless.'  To  the  ancient  Israelite  the  honour  and  prosperit}' 
of  his  children  took  the  place  which  is  filled  for  the  modern 
Christian  by  anticipations  of  personal  happiness  in  a  future  life. 

he  that  shall  be  possessor  of  my  house,  &c.  :  i.  e.  my  heir. 

1  RJE.  2  Gen.  xx.  7. 

3  Ps.  iii.  3,  &o  ;  also  Deut.  xxxiii.  29.  *  Cf.  on  Gen.  ii.  4. 


2oo  GENESIS  15.  3-9.     J(E) 

3  Dammesek  Eliezer  ?  And  Abram  said,  Behold,  to  me 
thou  hast  given  no  seed  :  and,  lo,  one  born  in  my  house 

4  is  mine  heir.  And,  behold,  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
unto  him,  saying,  This  man  shall  not  be  thine  heir ;  but 
he  that  shall  come  forth  out  of  thine  own  bowels  shall  be 

5  thine  heir.  And  he  brought  him  forth  abroad,  and  said, 
Look  now  toward  heaven,  and  tell  the  stars,  if  thou  be 
able  to  tell  them :  and  he  said  unto  him,  So  shall  thy 

6  seed  be.     And  he  believed  in  the  Lord  ;  and  he  counted 

7  it  to  him  for  righteousness.  And  he  said  unto  him,  I  am 
the  Lord  that  brought  thee  out  of  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  to 

8  give  thee  this  land  to  inherit  it.     And  he  said,  O  Lord 

9  God,  whereby  shall  I  know  that  I  shall  inherit  it  ?  And 
he  said  unto  him,  Take  me  an  heifer  of  three  years  old, 
and  a  she-goat  of  three  years  old,  and  a  ram  of  three 

Failing  a  son  or  other  natural  heir,  a  favourite  slave  sometimes 
inherited,  the  slave  being  a  member  of  the  family  and  sharing 
in  the  religious  rites  of  the  family. 

But  the  Hebrew  of  the  latter  half  of  the  verse,  as  it  stands,  is 
unintelligible,  because  it  has  been  incorrectly  copied.  It  is  not 
possible  now  to  discover  exactly  what  was  originally  written, 
but  the  Revised  Version  is  probably  a  successful  conjecture  as 
to  what  the  author  must  have  meant. 

Dammesek  Eliezer.  Cf.  the  preceding  note.  The  Syriac 
Version  has  Eliezer  the  Damascene.  Eliezer  is  only  mentioned 
here,  but  cf.  on  xiv.  14.  Eliezer  and  the  closely  similar  Eleazar 
are  the  names  of  several  persons  in  the  Old  Testament. 

5.  tell  the  stars.    '  Tell '  =  '  count ' ;  the  vision  was  at  night. 

6.  He  believed  in  the  LORD,  &c.  This  is  St.  Paul's  chief 
proof-text1  for  his  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  If  Abram 
was  counted  righteous — justified — because  he  believed,  long  before 
the  Mosaic  Law  existed,  the  observance  of  that  Law  could  not 
be  necessary  to  justification.  St.  James2  connects  this  text  with 
the  obedience  of  Abram  as  the  indispensable  condition  of 
living  faith.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews*  connects  Abram's 
faith  with  the  departure  from  Haran  and  the  offering  up  of 
Isaac. 

1  Rom.  iv.  3  ;  Gal.  iii.  6.  2  Jas.  ii.  23.  s  Heb.  xi.  8,  17. 


GENESIS  15.  10-13.    J(E)  201 

years  old,  and  a  turtledove,  and  a  young  pigeon.     And  10 
he  took  him  all  these,  and  divided  them  in  the  midst, 
and  laid  each  half  over  against  the  other  :  but  the  birds 
divided  he  not.     And  the  birds  of  prey  came  down  upon  n 
the  carcases,  and  Abram  drove  them  away.     And  when  12 
the  sun  was  going  down,  a  deep  sleep  fell  upon  Abram ; 
and,  lo,  an  horror  of  great  darkness  fell  upon  him.     And  13 
he  said  unto  Abram,  Know  of  a  surety  that  thy  seed 
shall  be  a  stranger  in  a  land  that  is  not  theirs,  and  shall 
serve  them;    and  they  shall  afflict  them  four  hundred 

10.  divided  them  in  the  midst,  &c.  This  and  the  subsequent 
proceedings  in  this  chapter  are  the  ritual  by  which  a  covenant 
was  concluded.  So  in  Jer.  xxxiv.  18  we  read  of  a  covenant  made 
before  Yahweh  '  when  they  cut  the  calf  in  twain  and  passed 
between  the  parts  thereof.'  We  read  that  when  the  Macedonian 
army  in  Asia  mutinied  after  the  death  of  Alexander  the  mutiny 
was  put  an  end  to  by  an  agreement,  and  that,  to  ratify  this, 
the  contracting  parties  passed  between  the  two  halves  of  the 
carcass  of  a  dog.  The  meaning  of  the  ritual  may  be  illustrated 
from  the  story  of  the  Horatii  and  Curiatii.  When  the  compact  for 
their  combat  was  being  made  the  herald  prayed  that  if  Rome 
were  false  to  the  treaty  Jupiter  might  smite  Rome  as  the  herald 
smote  the  pig,  only  more  violently,  in  proportion  to  his  greater 
power1. 

The  animals  enumerated  are  all  such  as  could  be  offered  in 
sacrifice. 

12.  when  the  sun  was  going"  down.  It  was  already  night  in 
verses  1  and  5,  and  there  is  nothing  to  suggest  that  a  day  has 
intervened.  This  is  another  indication  that  the  chapter  has  been 
compiled  from  two  independent  narratives,  one  of  which  (prob- 
ably E)  referred  to  the  vision  and  the  countless  stars,  and  the 
other  (probably  J)  to  the  setting  sun  in  this  verse. 

a  deep  sleep  :  a  supernatural  trance.  The  Hebrew  word  is 
the  same  as  that  used  for  the  deep  sleep  into  which  Adam  was 
cast  before  his  rib  was  shaped  into  Eve. 

an  horror  of  great  darkness  :  a  premonition  of  the  coming 
manifestation  of  Yahweh. 

13,  14.  A  prediction  of  the  bondage  in  Egypt  and  the 
Exodus. 

four  hundred  years :  obviously  a  round  number,   probably 

1  Livy,  i.  24,  ap.  Holzinger. 


202  GENESIS   15.  14-17.     J(E) 

14  years ;  and  also  that  nation,  whom  they  shall  serve,  will 
I  judge  :  and  afterward  shall  they  come  out  with  great 

15  substance.     But  thou  shalt  go  to  thy  fathers  in  peace; 

16  thou  shalt  be  buried  in  a  good  old  age.  And  in  the 
fourth  generation  they  shall  come  hither  again :  for  the 

17  iniquity  of  the  Amorite  is  not  yet  full.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  that,  when  the  sun  went  down,  and  it  was  dark, 
behold   a   smoking  furnace,  and   a   flaming  torch  that 

derived  from  ancient  tradition.  In  Exod.  xii.  40  the  period  is 
given  as  430  years  ;  but  the  Septuagint  alters  the  verse  so  as 
to  make  the  430  years  the  period  from  the  arrival  of  Abram  in 
Canaan  to  the  Exodus  ;  and  this  view  seems  to  have  been  very 
widely  held  amongst  the  Jews  in  New  Testament  times.  Besides 
the  Septuagint  it  is  found  in  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch,  in  one 
passage  of  Josephus  ',  and  in  Gal.  iii.  17. 

14.  with  great  substance,  possibly  a  reference  to  the 
'spoiling  of  the  Egyptians/  Exod.  xii.  35,  36. 

15.  go  to  thy  fathers  in  peace  cannot  mean  here  '  be 
buried  with  thy  fathers,'  for  the  '  fathers  '  were  buried  at  Haran 
and  Ur.  The  phrase  may  be  merely  conventional ;  or  may 
refer  to  Abram  joining  his  fathers  in  Sheol,  the  abode  of  the 
dead,  where,  according  to  the  ideas  of  ancient  Israel,  the  dead 
still  existed  in  a  dim,  ghostlike  half-life. 

a  good  old  age  :    165  years,  xxv.  7. 

16.  fourth  generation:  about  120  years,  inconsistent  with 
the  400  years  of  verse  13  ;  another  trace  of  compilation  from 
independent  narratives. 

the  Amorite  :  the  Elohistic  Document  (E),  of  which  this 
verse  is  a  fragment,  uses  Amorite  as  a  general  term  for  the 
inhabitants  of  Canaan. 

1?.  a  smoking-  furnace  and  a  flaming  torch.  Yahweh  passes 
between  the  halves  of  the  divided  carcasses,  and  His  presence  is 
indicated  by  a  lurid  appearance  of  mingled  smoke  and  fire  ;  cf. 
Exod.  xix.  18,  'Mount  Sinai  was  altogether  on  smoke,  because 
Yahweh  descended  upon  it  in  fire  :  and  the  smoke  thereof 
ascended  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace  ' ;  xxiv.  17, '  the  appearance  of 
the  glory  of  Yahweh  was  like  devouring  fire  ' ;  Ps.  xviii.  8  : 
'There  went  up  a  smoke  out  of  his  nostrils, 
And  fire  out  of  his  mouth  devoured.' 

1  Elsewhere  he  follows  the  Hebrew  text  of  Exod.  xii.  40;  Acts 
vii.  6  follows  Genesis* 


GENESIS  15.  iS-2i.     J(E)  203 

passed  between  these  pieces.  In  that  day  the  Lord  18 
made  a  covenant  with  Abram,  saying,  Unto  thy  seed 
have  I  given  this  land,  from  the  river  of  Egypt  unto  the 
great  river,  the  river  Euphrates:  the  Kenite,  and  the  19 
Kenizzite,  and  the  Kadmonite,  and  the  Hittite,  and  the  20 
Perizzite,  and  the  Rephaim,  and  the  Amorite,  and  the  21 
Canaanite,  and  the  Girgashite,  and  the  Jebusite. 

18.  the  LORD  made  a  covenant:  Yahweh,  by  thus  con- 
descending to  observe  the  ritual  b}'  which  men  ratified  covenants, 
«I  :lared  in  the  most  emphatic  way  that  He  had  entered  into 
a  solemn  compact  with  Abram.  The  narrative,  as  so  often  in  J, 
is  anthropomorphic  in  form.  The  Hebrew  translated  '  made 
a  covenant 1  is  literally  '  cut  a  covenant,'  in  reference  to  the 
ritual. 

the  river  of  Egypt  must  mean  here  what  is  commonly 
called  the  'brook  of  Egypt,'  the  Wady  el  Arish,  the  boundary 
between  Egypt  and  the  desert  south  of  Palestine. 

19-21.  This  list  is  probably  an  insertion  of  a  Deuteronomic 
editor1;  it  is  unusually  full — ten  names — and  yet,  .for  the  most 
part,  it  is  confined  to  the  peoples  of  Western  Palestine,  and  omits 
those  dwelling  between  the  Jordan  and  the  Euphrates.  Cf.  x. 
15,  16. 

19.  Kenite :  originally  a  nomad  tribe  of  the  south  of  Palestine, 
first  allied  with  and  afterwards  absorbed  in  Israel.  Probably  in 
one  tradition  Cain,  'Qayin,  was  the  eponymous  ancestor  of  the 
Kenites,  Qeyni. 

Kenizzite:  in  xxxvi.  11,  &c,  Kenaz  is  a  clan  of  Edom  ;  in 
Joshua  xv.  17  the  ancestor  of  Caleb  and  Othniel  ;  i.  e.  Kenaz  is  an 
Israelite  clan.  Either  Kenaz  was  a  clan  of  Southern  Palestine, 
some  families  of  which  were  absorbed  in  Edom,  and  some  in 
Israel  ;  or  it  was  an  Edomite  clan,  afterwards  absorbed  in  Israel. 

Kadmonite  :  '  the  men  of  the  East ' ;  only  here  ;  but  the  bne- 
Kedem,  'the  children  of  the  East,'  appear  in  Judges  vi.  3  as  allies 
of  Midian  and  Amalek.  In  a  very  obscure  passage,  Ezek.  xxv. 
3-1 1,  they  appear,  as  it  seems,  as  enemies  of  Edom,  Ammon, 
and  Moab.  Probably  the  Kadmonites  were  inhabitants  of  the 
eastern  desert,  cf.  Kedemah,  xxv.  15. 

20.  Hittite:  see  on  Heth,  x.  15. 
Perizzite  :  see  xiii.  7. 
Rephaim  :  see  xiv.  5. 

'   21.  Amorite  .  .  .  Canaanite  .  .  .  Girgashite  .  .  .  Jebusite. 
See  x.  15-20. 

1  See  p.  13. 


204  GENESIS  16.  r-j     PJP 

16      [P]  Now  Sarai  Abram's  wife  bare  him  no  children : 
[J]  and  she  had  an  handmaid,  an  Egyptian,  whose  name 

2  was  Hagar.  And  Sarai  said  unto  Abram,  Behold  now, 
the  Lord  hath  restrained  me  from  bearing ;  go  in,  I  pray 
thee,  unto  my  handmaid ;  it  may  be  that  I  shall  obtain 
children  by  her.     And  Abram  hearkened  to  the  voice 

3  of  Sarai.     [P]  And  Sarai  Abram's  wife  took  Hagar  the 

Egyptian,   her   handmaid,   after   Abram   had  dwelt  ten 



xvi.  The  Flight  of  Hagar.  (Compiled  from  P  and  J.  Cf.  'on 
chapter  xxi.) 

fa1;   Priestly  Document.     Sarai  childless. 

1  b,  2.  Primitive  Document.  Sarai,  being  childless,  induces 
Abram  to  take  Hagar  as  a  concubine. 

1.  an  Egyptian  whose  name  was  Hagar.  Hagar  is  the 
eponymous  ancestress  of  the  Hagrites  or  Hagarenes  *,  who  are 
coupled  in  Ps.  lxxxiii  with  Edom,  Moab,  and  Ishmael.  The 
Hagarenes  were  a  nomad  Arab  tribe,  wandering  in  the  deserts  j 
east  of  Jordan  at  the  time  when  the  later  O.  T.  writers  were 
acquainted  with  them.  The  statement  that  Hagar  was  an 
Egyptian  would  imply  that  this  tribe,  and  possibly  also  Ishmael, 
originated  in,  or,  at  any  rate,  migrated  at  some  time  from  Egypt. 
It  is  stated,  however,  that  there  was  an  Arabian  state,  occupying 
portions  of  Northern  Arabia  and  Syria,  called  Mucr.  The 
Hebrew  word  translated  i  Egyptian  '  is  Micrith  ;  and  it  is  sug- 
gested3 that  this  word  means  here  '  woman  of  Mucr.'  It  is  more 
natural  to  connect  the  Arabian  tribes  of  Hagar  and  Ishmael  with 

a  district  of  Arabia  than  with  Egypt. 

2.  The  IiOl&D  hath  restrained  me.  The  O.  T.  recognizes  the 
hand  of  God  in  all  the  events  of  nature  and  history,  and  does 
not  limit  the  Divine  activity  to  '  special  providences.' 

gfo  in  .  .  .  unto  my  handmaid.  Any  female  slave  might  be 
the  concubine  of  her  master  ;  but  slaves  owned  by  a  wife  could 
only  become  concubines  by  her  permission. 

I  shall  obtain  children  by  her,  Hebrew:  'be  builded  by 
her.'  Childlessness  was  a  sore  disgrace  to  an  Israelite  woman, 
and  the  suggested  expedient  would  technically  mitigate  the  shame. 

3.  Priestly  Document.  Sarai  induces  Abram  to  take  Hagar  as 
a  con  at  bine. 

1  As  far  as  ( children.' 

a  Ps.  lxxxiii.  6;   i  Chron.  v.  10,  19,  20,  xxvii.  31  \  Basuch,  iii.  23. 

3  Winckler,  quoted  with  approval  by  Gunkel. 


GENESIS  16.  4-7.     PJ  205 

years  in  tne  land  of  Canaan,  and  gave  her  to  Abram  her 
husband  to  be  his  wife.     [J]  And  he  went  in  unto  Hagar,  4 
and  she  conceived  :  and  when  she  saw  that  she  had  con- 
ceived, her  mistress  was  despised  in  her  eyes.     And  Sarai  5 
said  unto  Abram,  My  wrong  be  upon  thee :  I  gave  my 
handmaid  into  thy  bosom  j  and  when  she  saw  that  she 
had  conceived,  I  was  despised  in  her  eyes :  the  Lord 
judge  between  me  and  thee.      But  Abram   said   unto  6 
Sarai,  Behold,  thy  maid  is  in  thy  hand ;  do  to  her  that 
which  is  good  in  thine  eyes.      And  Sarai  dealt  hardly 
with  her,  and  she  fled  from  her  face.     And  the  angel  of  the  7 
Lord  found  her  by  a  fountain  of  water  in  the  wilderness,  by 

4-8.  Primitive  Document.  Hagar  conceives,  and  despises  Sarai. 
Sarai  complains  to  Abram,  and  chastises  Hagar,  who  flees  to  the 
wilderness,  where  an  angel  appears  to  her. 

5.  My  wrong'  "be  upon  thee:  i.  e.  'thou  art  responsible  for  the 
wrong  done  to  me,  and  ought  to  suffer  for  it.'  Sarai  blames  her 
husband  for  the  consequences  of  what  she  herself  had  asked  him 
to  do,  a  phenomenon  not  unknown  in  monogamous  households. 
The  special  features  of  the  case,  however,  illustrate  the  draw- 
backs of  polygamy. 

6.  do  to  her  that  which  is  good  in  thine  eyes.  As  Hagar 
was  Sarai's  slave  she  was  at  the  mercy  of  her  mistress,  and 
Abram  could  hardly  interfere  between  them. 

dealt  hardly  with  her  :  Hebrew,  '  humbled  her,'  probably 
a  euphemism  for  corporal  chastisement^  cf.  Exodus  xxi.  20 ; 
according  to  I/iilmann,  however,  Sarai  humbled  Hagar  '  by  hel 
harsh  manner  and  the  imposition  of  hard  work.' 

1.  the  ang-el  of  the  LORD.  The  term  '  angel,'  lit.  '  messenger,' 
occurs  here  for  the  first  time.  These  'messengers  '  often  appear 
in  the  form  of  men1  ;  'Nothing  is  said  as  to  the  origin  of  these 
beings,  and  attention  is  directed  to  their  functions  rather  than 
their  nature.  .  .  .  The  Angel  of  Yahweh  ...  is  at  one  time 
identified  with  Yahweh,  and  at  another  distinguished  from  Him  a 
.  .  .  and  is,  therefore,  almost  rather  a  theophany  or  divine  mani- 
festation than  a  messenger3.' 

1  Gen.  xviii.  2,  xix.  1. 

2  Cf.  verse  13  and  Judges  vi.  11,  12,  20,  21  with  14,  16,  23,  and  xiii. 
15-21  with  22,  23. 

3  W.  H.  Bennett,  Theology  of  the  Old  Testament,  pp.  107  f. 


2o6  GENESIS  16.  8-12.     JRJ 

S  the  fountain  in  the  way  to  Shur.  And  he  said,  Hagar,  Sarai's 
handmaid,  whence  earnest  thou  ?  and  whither  goest  thou  ? 
And  she  said,  I  flee  from  the  face  of  my  mistress  Sarai.  i 

9  [R]  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  her,  Return  to  thy 

10  mistress,  and  submit  thyself  under  her  hands.  And  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  her,  I  will  greatly  multiply 
thy  seed,  that  it  shall  not  be  numbered  for  multitude. 

ii  [J]  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  her,  Behold, 
thou  art  with  child,  and  shalt  bear  a  son  ;  and  thou  shalt 
call  his  name  Ishmael,  because  the  Lord  hath  heard  thy 

12  affliction.  And  he  shall  be  as  a  wild-ass  among  men  ; 
his  hand  shall  be  against  every  man,  and  every  man's 
hand  against  him  \  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  presence  of 

Shur:  the  'wilderness'  between  Egypt  and  Palestine, 
perhaps  named  after  the  shor  or  '  wall,'  the  frontier  fortifications 
of  Egypt.  Whether  Hagar  was  an  Egyptian  or  a  Mucrite  she 
was  on  her  way  home. 

9,  io.  Editorial  Addition.  The  angel  bids  Hagar  return  to  her 
mistress,  and  promises  her  a  numerous  posterity.  Originally  the 
primitive  (J)  sections  of  this  chapter  narrated  the  final  flight  of 
Hagar  ;  we  are  never  told  that  Hagar  went  back.  Verse  15,  in 
which  Hagar  is  found  with  Abram,  belongs  to  P,  which  ignores 
the  Flight.  See  below.  Ch.  xxi.  5-21  is  the  alternative  account 
of  the  Flight  of  Hagar  given  by  the  Elohistic  Document,  which 
placed  the  event  at  a  later  stage  of  the  history,  see  on  xxi. 
Notice  that  each  of  the  three  verses  9,  10,  11  begins  with  'the 
angel  of  Yahweh  said,'  though  neither  any  reply  of  Hagar's,  nor 
anything  else,  interrupts  the  angel's  words. 

n-14.  Primitive  Document.  The  angel  foretells  the  birth  and 
mode  of  life  of  Ishmael.  On  account  of  the  Theophany,  Hagar 
names  the  well  where  the  angel  found  her  Beer-lahai-roi. 

11.  Ishmael,  because  the  X.ORD  hath  heard.  Ishmael  means 
'  God  heareth  ' :  Ishmael  is  the  epon37mous  ancestor  of  a  large 
number  of  Arabian  tribes. 

affliction:  lit.  'humbling,1  the  same  root  as  the  'dealt 
hardly  '  in  verse  6. 

12.  This  verse  is  a  vivid  description  of  the  life  of  the  nomad 
Arabs,  even  in  the  present  day. 

in  the  presence  of  all  his  brethren :  R.  V.  marg.  '  over 
against'  expresses  the  meaning  more  forcibly.  His  attitude 
would   always   be  one    of  independent    self-assertion,    or   even 


GENESIS  16.  r3, 14.     J  207 

all  his  brethren.     And  she  called  the  name  of  the  Lord  t% 
that  spake  unto  her,  Thou  art  a  God  that  seeth  :  for 
she  said,  Have  I  even  here  looked  after  him  that  seeth 
me  ?      Wherefore   the   well   was    called  Beer-lahai-roi ;  r4 

defiance.  The  other  R.  V.  marg.  'to  the  east  of  is  less  likely; 
Ishmael  was  south-east  rather  than  east  of  the  other  Abrahamic 
tribes. 

brethren :  kinsfolk.  Ishmael's  '  brothers '  in  the  strict 
sense  were  Isaac  and  Abram's  sons  by  Keturah,  xxv.  1-4. 

13.  the  LORD  that  spake  unto  her :  note  that  the  angel  of 
Vahweh  is  here  spoken  of  as  Yahweh,  cf.  on  verse  7. 

Thou  art  a  God  that  seeth,  &c.  R.  V.  marg..  'Thou  God 
seest  me '  ;  the  Hebrew  for  '  a  God  that  seeth  '  is  El-roi,  which  is 
apparently  intended  to  mean  'God  of  seeing.'  The  Hebrew  of 
this  clause  and  of  the  rest  of  the  verse  is  unintelligible  as  it 
stands.  This  clause  can  hardly  be  the  original  form  of  the 
Divine  name,  which  was  probably  El-roi  or  El-lahai-roi,  i.  e.  the 
well  and  the  deity  were  once  named  after  a  place  Lahai-roi,  cf. 
below.  But  the  story,  as  J  told  it,  probably  gave  the  name  El-roi, 
'  God  of  Vision  '  or  '  seeing,'  i.  e.  '  Whom  one  may  see  and  live.' 

Have  I  even  here  looked  after  him  that  seeth  me  ?  unin- 
telligible. A  slight  emendation 1  gives,  '  Have  I  even  seen  God 
and  survived  ?'  The  author  must  have  written  words  intended  to 
convey  some  such  meaning.  That  a  man  should  be  suffered  to 
see  God  and  live  was  a  mark  of  especial  favour  ;  thus  Manoah  said 
to  his  wife,  'We  shall  surely  die,  because  we  have  seen  God2.' 

14.  Beer-lahai-roi.  R.  V.  marg.  '  i.  e.  The  well  of  the  living 
one  who  seeth  me,'  a  meaning  which  does  not  suit  the  context. 
By  a  slight  alteration  we  get  the  more  suitable  reading,  '  Well  of 
living'  (i.  e.  continuing  to  live)  'after  seeing'  (God),  which  gives 
a  sense  obviously  required  by  the  previous  verse. 

In  the  story  of  Samson  '6  we  have  a  place  called  Lehi  (jaw- 
bone) ;  probably  the  '  lahai '  here  was  original^  lehi,  and  rot  an 
obsolete  word,  the  name  of  some  animal,  perhaps  an  antelope. 
A  hill  might  be  called  Lehi-roi,  '  Jawbone  of  the  antelope,'  from 
its  shape  ;  hence  the  name  of  the  neighbouring  well,  Beer-lchi-roi, 
and  of  the  tutelary  spirit  of  the  well,  El-lehi-roi.  S«  *in  xxxv.  8 
we  have  El-beth-el.     Naturally  the  author  of  the  Primitive  Docu- 

1  Thus  : —  ; 

Heb.  Text         Hgm         him  r'ythy       .    'hry  r'y 

Emendation       Hgm  h'lhym         r'ythy    ^^jv-'hy 

so  Ball,  Genesis,  in  Sacred  Books  of  the  Old  Testanjsfatf. 

2  Judges  xiii.  22  :  cf.  Gen.  xxxii.  30;  Ex.  iii.  5,  xix.  21,  xxiv.  10,  1 1* 
xxxiii.  20;    1  Sam.  vi.  19.  3  Judges  xv.!<iy-20. 


M 


2o8  GENESIS  16.  15— 17.  2.     J  P 

15  behold,  it  is  between  Kadesh  and  Bered.  [P]  And  Hagar 
bare  Abram  a  son :  and  Abram  called  the  name  of  his 

ir>  son,  which  Hagar  bare,  Ishmael.  And  Abram  was  four- 
score and  six  years  old,  when  Hagar  bare  Ishmael  to 
Abram. 

17  And  when  Abram  was  ninety  years  old  and  nine,  the 
Lord  appeared  to  Abram,  and  said  unto  him,  I  am  God 

2  Almighty ;  walk  before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect.     And 

ment  gives  a  more  religious  interpretation  to  the  name  and  con- 
nects it  with  the  incidents  in  the  story  of  Hagar.  Beer-lahai-roi 
was  a  sacred  well,  no  doubt  with  a  sanctuary  attached.  Its 
position  is  defined  as  '  between  Kadesh  and  Bered,'  i.  e.  in  the 
■wilderness  to  the  south  of  Palestine.  For  Kadesh  see  on  xiv.  7  ; 
Bered  is  not  mentioned  anywhere  else,  and  its  position  is  not 
known.  Beer-lahai-roi  is  sometimes  identified  with  "Ain  Muweileh, 
twelve  miles  to  the  west  of  Kadesh. 

15,  16.  Priestly  Document.  When  Abram  is  eighty-six  Hagar 
bears  a  son,  whom  Abram  names  Ishmael. 

15.  Abram  called  the  name  of  his  son.  The  father  names 
the  child,  cf.  iv.  1,  17,  25  ;  v.  3. 

xvii.  God's  Covenant  of  Circumcision  with  Abram.  (Priestly 
Document)1. 

•1-14.  El-Shaddai  appears  to  Abram  ;  changes  his  name  to 
Abraham  ;  covenants  to  make  him  the  ancestor  of  many  nations 
and  to  give  Canaan  to  his  descendants  ;  and  ordains  circumcision 
as  the  sign  of  the  covenant. 

15-22.  God  changes  Sarai's  name  to  Sarah,  and  promises 
that  she  shall  have  a  son.  Ishmael  shall  have  a  blessing  of  his 
own  ;  but  God's  covenant  is  with  Isaac,  the  son  to  be  born  to 
Sarah. 

23-27.  Abraham  and  all  his  household  are  circumcised. 

1.  the  LOUD,  i.  e.  Yahweh.  The  presence  of  this  name  in  the 
Priestly  Document  is  doubtless  due  to  an  editor,  or  to  the  care- 
lessness of  a  copyist. 

God  Almighty.  Heb.  El-Shaddai ;  in  Exod.  vi.  3  the 
Priestly  Document  (P)  tells  us  that  God  was  not  known  to  the 
patriarchs  as  Yahweh,  but  as  El-Shaddai.  Accordingly  P  often 
uses  El-Shaddai  as  a  divine  name  in  Genesis2.  The  name  is 
most  common  in  Job,  where  it  occurs  thirty-one  times.  Outside 
of   Genesis,    however,   we    have   simply   Shaddai.     Most   of  the 

1  See  on  verse  "  "  Gen.  xxviii.  3,  xxxv.  1 1,  xliii.  14,  xlviii.  3. 


GENESIS   17.  3-8.     P  209 

I  will  make  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and  will 
multiply  thee  exceedingly.     And  Abram  fell  on  his  face  :  3 
and  God  talked  with  him,  saying,  As  for  me,  behold,  my  4 
covenant  is  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  the  father  of 
a  multitude  of  nations.      Neither  shall  thy  name   any  5 
more  be  called  Abram,  but  thy  name  shall  be  Abraham  ; 
for  the  father  of  a  multitude  of  nations  have  I  made  thee. 
And  I  will  make  thee  exceeding  fruitful,  and  I  will  make  6 
nations  of  thee,  and  kings  shall  come  out  of  thee.     And  7 
I  will  establish  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee  and 
thy  seed  after  thee  throughout  their  generations  for  an 
everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee  and  to  thy 
seed  after  thee.     And  I  will  give  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  8 

occurrences  are  in  exilic  or  post-exilic  literature  ;  the  only  certain 
exceptions  being  xlix.  25,  in  the  Blessing  of  Jacob,  and  Numbers 
xxiv.  4,  16,  in  the  oracles  of  Balaam. 

In    some    passages    the    Septuagint   renders   Shaddai   by  '  the 
Almighty.'      The  derivation  and  meaning  of  the  word   are  un- 
known;  it  has  been  variously  explained  as  'the  Destroyer,'  'the 
Exalted,'  '  He  Who  is  sufficient,'  &c,  &c. 
walk  before  me.     See  v.  22. 

and  be  thou  perfect :  rather,  '  so  shalt  thou  be  perfect.' 
'Perfect'  may  be  equivalent  to  our  'blameless,'  i.e.  of  high 
character  and  upright  conduct,  and  not  absolutely  free  from  sin — 
in  such  a  phrase  as  '  a  man  of  blameless  life.'  Others  explain  it, 
'  that  thou  mayest  escape  reproach  or  punishment.' 

2.  covenant:  cf.  vi.  18  and  ch.  xv.  Here,  however,  Elohim 
does  not  observe  anthropomorphic  ritual  ;  and  the  covenant  is 
not  a  compact  between  Him  and  Abraham,  but  a  spontaneous 
declaration  of  the  Divine  will. 

4.  a  multitude  of  nations  :  the  Arab  tribes  descended  from 
Ishmael,  and  from  Abram 's  sons  by  Keturah,  Edom  (Esau),  and 
Israel. 

5.  Abram  .  .  .  Abraham.  The  change  of  name  is  a  sign  of 
the  covenant,  a  token  that  the  patriarch  enters  on  a  new  period 
of  his  life,  in  which  he  is  to  enjoy  higher  privileges.  For  Abram 
see  on  xi.  26.  There  is  no  certain  explanation  of  the  form 
Abraham  ;  probably  it  is  only  another  way  of  spelling  Abram. 
The  text  indeed  explains  Abraham  as  meaning  'the  father,' <r£, 
'  of  a  multitude,'  Ziamon,  'of  nations'  ;  but  this  is  impossible  as  an 
etymology — it  does  not  account  for  the  R. 


1 


210  GENESIS  17.9-15.     P 

seed  after  thee,  the  land  of  thy  sojournings,  all  the  land 

of  Canaan,  for  an  everlasting  possession ;  and  I  will  be 

9  their  God.     And  God  said  unto  Abraham,  And  as  for 

thee,  thou  shalt  keep  my  covenant,  thou,  and  thy  seed 

10  after  thee  throughout  their  generations.  This  is  my 
covenant,  which  ye  shall  keep,  between  me  and  you  and 
thy  seed  after  thee ;    every  male  among  you  shall  be 

11  circumcised.  And  ye  shall  be  circumcised  in  the  flesh 
of  your  foreskin ;  and  it  shall  be  a  token  of  a  covenant 

12  betwixt  me  and  you.  And  he  that  is  eight  days  old  shall 
be  circumcised  among  you,  every  male  throughout  your 
generations,  he  that  is  born  in  the  house,  or  bought  with 

13  money  of  any  stranger,  which  is  not  of  thy  seed.  He 
that  is  born  in  thy  house,  and  he  that  is  bought  with  thy 
money,  must  needs  be  circumcised :  and  my  covenant 

14  shall  be  in  your  flesh  for  an  everlasting  covenant.  And 
the  uncircumcised  male  who  is  not  circumcised  in  the 
flesh  of  his  foreskin,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his 
people  ;  he  hath  broken  my  covenant. 

15  And  God  said  unto  Abraham,  As  for  Sarai  thy  wife, 
thou  shalt  not  call  her  name  Sarai,  but  Sarah  shall  her 


•      10.  circumcised.     Circumcision  is  a  very  widespread   custom. 

/   It  was  practised  in  the  ancient  East  not  only  by  Israel,  but  also 

I     by  the  Egyptians,  the  Arabs.  Edom,  Ammon,  and  Moab,  and  by 

I    all  the  peoples  of  Canaan  except  the  Philistines.     It  was.  as  the 

XBiblical  narrative  implies,  a  ritual  tribal  mark. 

12.  he  that  is  horn  ...  or  "bought.  Slaves  were  considered 
to  belong  to  the  family,  and  shared  the  family  sacra,  or  religious 
rites,  duties,  and  privileges. 

14.  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people.  It  is  not 
certain  whether  this  phrase  denotes  capital  punishment  or 
ecclesiastical  excommunication  probably  accompanied  by  banish- 
ment. 

15.  Sarai  .  .  .  Sarah.  Sarah  means  '  princess.'  For  Sarai  fi 
see  on  xi.  29,  and  for  the  change  of  name,  on  verse  5.  Sarah  is  | 
thus  honoured  as  the  mother  of  the  ancestor  of  the  Chosen  I 
People.  I 


GENESIS  17.  16-25.     P  211 

name  be.     And  I  will  bless  her;  and  moreover  I  will  give  16 
thee  a  son  of  her :  yea,  I  will  bless  her,  and  she  shall  be 
a  mother  of  nations ;  kings  of  peoples  shall  be  of  her. 
^hen  Abraham  fell  upon  his  face,  and  laughed,  and  said  17 
in  his  heart,  Shall  a  child  be  born  unto  him  that  is  an 
hundred  years  old  ?  and  shall  Sarah,  that  is  ninety  years 
old,    bear?     And   Abraham   said   unto   God,    Oh   that  18 
Ishmael  might  live  before  thee !     And  God  said,  Nay,  19 
but  Sarah  thy  wife  shall  bear  thee  a  son  ;  and  thou  shalt 
call  his  name  Isaac  :  and  I  will  establish  my  covenant 
with  him  for  an  everlasting  covenant  for  his  seed  after 
him.     And  as  for  Ishmael,  I  have  heard  thee  :  behold,  20 
I  have  blessed  him,  and  will  make  him  fruitful,  and  will 
multiply  him  exceedingly ;  twelve  princes  shall  he  beget, 
and  I  will  make  him  a  great  nation.     But  my  covenant  21 
will  I  establish  with  Isaac,  which  Sarah  shall  bear  unto 
thee  at  this  set  time  in  the  next  year.     And  he  left  off  2  2 
talking  with   him,   and   God  went   up   from  Abraham. 
And  Abraham  took  Ishmael  his  son,  and  all  that  were  23 
born  in  his  house,  and  all  that  were  bought  with  his 
money,  every  male  among  the  men  of  Abraham's  house, 
and  circumcised  the  flesh  of  their  foreskin  in  the  selfsame 
day,  as  God  had  said  unto  him.     And  Abraham  was  24 
ninety  years  old  and  nine,  when  he  was  circumcised  in 
the  flesh  of  his  foreskin.     And   Ishmael   his   son  was  25 
thirteen  years  old,  when  he  was  circumcised  in  the  flesh 

17.  and  laughed:  way-yichaq,  the  first  of  many  instances 
where  the  writers  play  upon  the  name  of  Isaac  (yighaq). 

19.  Isaac  :  l  he  who  laughs,'  "the  laugher,'  cf.  above.  Possibly 
Isaak  is  a  contraction  of  Yichaq-el,  '  El  laughs.'  Isaac  has  been 
regarded  by  some  as  the  name  of  a  deity,  afterwards  perhaps 
transferred  to  the  tribes  which  worshipped  him. 

20.  twelve  princes.  As  Israel  had  twelve  tribes.  These 
'  princes  '  or  tribes  are  enumerated  in  xxv.  13-16. 

21.  at  this  set  time  in  the  next  year  :  i.e.  a  year  hence. 

P  2 


212  GENESIS  17.  26— 18.  5.     PJ 

26  of  his   foreskin.     In   the   selfsame   day   was   Abraham 

27  circumcised,  and  Ishmael  his  son.  And  all  the  men  of 
his  house,  those  born  in  the  house,  and  those  bought 
with  money  of  the  stranger,  were  circumcised  with  him. 

18  [J]  And  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  by  the  oaks  of 
Mamre,  as  he  sat  in  the  tent  door  in  the  heat  of  the  day  ; 

2  and  he  lift  up  his  eyes  and  looked,  and,  lo,  three  men 
stood  over  against  him :  and  when  he  saw  them,  he  ran 
to  meet  them  from  the  tent  door,  and  bowed  himself  to 

3  the  earth,  and  said,  My  lord,  if  now  I  have  found  favour 
in  thy  sight,  pass  not  away,  I  pray  thee,  from  thy  servant : 

4  let  now  a  little  water  be  fetched,  and  wash  your  feet,  and 

5  rest  yourselves  under  the  tree :  and  I  will  fetch  a  morsel 
of  bread,  and  comfort  ye  your  heart;  after  that  ye  shall 

xviii.  1-15.  The  Prediction  of  the  Birth  of  Isaac.  (Primi- 
tive Document.)     '" 

1-8.  Three  men  visit  Abraham  and  are  entertained  by  him. 

9-15.  They  announce  that  Sarah  shall  bear  a  son.  Sarah 
laughs,  and  is  rebuked  by  Yahweh. 

1.  The  LOE2  appeared  unto  him:  i.  e.  Yahweh  was  one  of 
the  '  three  men  '  in  verse  2,  cf.  verses  13  ff.  It  is  not  quite  clear 
at  what  point  Abraham  discovered  that  he  was  in  the  presence  of 
Yahweh;  perhaps  when  his  Visitor  showed  that  He  could  read 
the  thoughts  of  Sarah,  verse  13.  The  deference  shown  by 
the  patriarch  in  verses  2  f.  was  the  ordinary  courtesy  of 
Oriental  hospitality  towards  a  distinguished  guest. 

the  oaks  of  Mamre:    where  Abraham  was  sojourning  ac- 
cording to  this  document,  see  xiii.  18.    . 

2.  stood  over  against  him :  expecting  an  offer  of  hospitality. 

3.  My  lord 1 :  the  one  of  three  who  seemed  to  be  the  chief, 
i.e.  Yahweh,  whom,  however,  Abraham  does  not  recognize  as 
such.  The  margin,  '  O  Lord2,'  follows  the  vowels  added  by  the 
Massoretic  editors 3,  and  implies  that  Abraham  did  recognize 
Yahweh  at  this  point. 

4.  the  tree:  cf.  verse  1. 

5.  a  morsel  of  bread  :  courteous  depreciation  of  the  generous 
hospitality  which  was  to  be  shown. 


Adorn.  2  Adondy.  s  See  p.  44. 


GENESIS  18.  6-12.     J  213 

pass  on  :   forasmuch  as  ye  are  come  to  your  servant. 
And  they  said,  So  do,  as  thou  hast  said.     And  Abraham  6 
hastened  into  the  tent  unto  Sarah,  and  said,  Make  ready 
quickly  three  measures  of  fine  meal,  knead  it,  and  make 
cakes.     And  Abraham  ran  unto  the  herd,  and  fetched  7 
a  calf  tender  and  good,  and  gave  it  unto  the  servant; 
and  he  hasted  to  dress  it.     And  he  took  butter,  and  8 
milk,  and  the  calf  which  he  had  dressed,  and  set  it  before 
them ;  and  he  stood  by  them  under  the-  tree,  and  they 
did  eat.     And  they  said  unto  him,  Where  is  Sarah  thy  9 
wife?     And  he  said,  Behold,  in  the  tent.     And  he  said,  ic 
I  will  certainly  return  unto  thee  when  the  season  cometh 
round ;  and,  lo,  Sarah  thy  wife  shall  have  a  son.     And 
Sarah  heard  in  the  tent  door,  which  was  behind  him. 
Now  Abraham  and  Sarah  were  old,  and  well  stricken  in  1 1 
age  ;  it  had  ceased  to  be  with  Sarah  after  the  manner  of 
women.     And    Sarah    laughed    within    herself,   saying,  12 
After  I  am  waxed  old  shall  I  have  pleasure,  my  lord 

forasmuch  as  :  R.  V.  marg.  '  for  therefore.' 

6.  measures  :  the  '  measure,'  or  seah,  was  the  third  part  of  the 
ephah,  and  was  equal  to  about  a  peck  and  a  half. 

fine  meal.  The  two  Hebrew  words1  thus  translated  are 
names  of  two  different  kinds  of  meal.  Probably  the  second  was 
added  as  a  correction  of  the  first.  The  soleth,  or  finer  kind  of 
flour,  was  prescribed  by  the  Priestly  Document2  for  use  in 
offerings  to  Yahweh  ;  hence  its  introduction  here  by  some  late 
editor. 

8.  butter3:  rather  'soured  milk,'  a  very  common  food  amongst 
the  Arabs. 

10.  when  the  season  cometh  round :  Heb.  '  liveth '  or 
'reviveth  ' ;  probably  <a  year  hence,'  as  in  xvii.  si. 

12.  Sarah  laughed :  a  foreshadowing  of  the  name  Isaac,  as 
in  xvii.  17  (which  see),  where  Abraham  laughs.  Here  the  laughter 
is  emphasized  by  being  made  the  subject  of  a  discussion. 


Qemah,  soleth.  3  Lev.  ii.  2,  &c. 

3  Hem' ah. 


214  GENESIS  18.  13-16.     J 

33  being  old  also?  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Abraham, 
Wherefore  did  Sarah  laugh,  saying,  Shall  I  of  a  surety 

14  bear  a  child,  which  am  old?  Is  any  thing  too  hard  for 
the  Lord  ?  At  the  set  time  I  will  return  unto  thee,  when 
the  season  cometh  round,  and  Sarah  shall  have  a  son. 

15  Then  Sarah  denied,  saying,  I  laughed  not ;  for  she  was 
afraid.     And  he  said,  Nay  ;  but  thou  didst  laugh. 

16  And  the  men  rose  up  from  thence,  and  looked  toward 

13.  the  LOSD  said.  These  words  identify  the  chief  of  the 
1  three  men  '  with  Yahweh. 

14.  too  hard.     R.  V.  marg.  'wonderful.' 

At  the  set  time,  &c.     Cf.  xvii.  si,  xviii.  10. 

15.  Sarah  denied.     Cf.  xii.  12  f.,  18  f. 

xviii.  16— xix.  38.  The  Destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 
(Primitive  Document,  except  xiii.  29=  P.) 

Primitive  Document. 

xviii.  16-22.  Yahweh  announces  to  Abraham  the  coming 
destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 

23-33-  Abraham  intercedes  for  Sodom,  Yahweh  promises  that 
the  city  shall  be  spared  if  ten  righteous  men  can  be  found  in  it. 

xix.  1-3.  The  two  angels  come  to  Sodom  and  are  lodged  by 
Lot. 

4-11.  The  men  of  the  city  desire  to  abuse  the  angels,  and  are 
miraculously  hindered. 

12-14.  At  the  bidding  of  the  angels  Lot  invites  his  sons-in-law 
to  accompany  him  out  of  Sodom.     They  scoff. 

15-23.     Lot  and  his  family  escape  to  Zoar. 

24,  25.  Yahweh  destroys  the  cities  of  the  plain  with  fire  and 
brimstone. 

26.  Lot's  wife  looks  behind  her,  and  is  turned  into  a  pillar  of 
salt. 

27,  28.     Abraham  sees  the  smoke  of  the  burning  cities. 

Priestly  Document. 
29.     God  destroys  the  cities  of  the  plain,  but  spares  Lot  foi 
Abraham's  sake. 

Primitive  Document. 
30-38.  The  origin  of  Moab  and  Ammon. 

Origin,  6°c,  of  the  Story  of  Lot.  No  trace  of  this  story  has  yet 
been  found  in  the  inscriptions  ;  it  may  be  a  local  narrative  which 
originated  in  the  conviction  that  the  awful  desolation  of  the  Dead 


GENESIS  18.  17,  iS.     J  215 

Sodom  :  and  Abraham  went  with  them  to  bring  them  on 
the  way.     And  the  Lord  said,  Shall  I  hide  from  Abraham  17 
that  which  I  do ;  seeing  that  Abraham  shall  surely  become  18 
a  great  and  mighty  nation,  and  all  the  nations  of  the 

Sea  and  its  shores  must  have  been  caused  by  a  Divine  visitation, 
some  terrible  judgement  for  sin.  The  form  of  the  catastrophe, 
the  raining  of  fire  and  brimstone,  may  have  been  suggested  by 
conflagrations  of  the  bitumen  which  is  found  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. It  has  been  supposed  that  the  Dead  Sea  was  formed  as  a 
result  of  this  catastrophe  ;  but  the  geology  of  the  district  shows 
that  the  sea  is  much  older  than  any  period  to  which  the  narrative 
could  refer.  The  shallow  southern  end  of  the  sea  may  have  once 
been  dry  land  ;  but  it  seems  clear  that  the  cities  of  the  plain  must 
have  been  at  the  northern  end — they  could  be  seen  from  Hebron, 
xix.  27,  28.  The  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  is  con- 
stantly cited  in  the  Bible  as  the  typical  instance  of  Divine  judge- 
ment. Hos.  xi.  8  compared  with  Gen.  x.  19  and  Deut.  xxix.  23 
suggests  that  there  was  an  alternative  form  of  the  story  in  which 
the  cities  overthrown  were  Admah.  and  Zeboim,  see  on  x.  19. 
The  account  of  Lot's  hospitality  and  its  consequences  may  be 
a  case  of  ascribing  to  a  historical  character  an  experience  some- 
what familiar  in  ordinal  life  ;  there  is  a  very  similar  story  of 
a  Levite  and  his  concubine  in  Judges  xix.  It  has  been  pointed 
out  that  this  passage  is  similar  to  a  well-known  Greek  legend  x  : 
Zeus  and  Hermes  were  wandering  in  Phrygia  in  human  form  (like 
the  three  '  men '),  and  for  some  time  sought  hospitality  in  vain, 
till  at  last  they  were  hospitably  received  by  an  aged  peasant 
named  Philemon  and  his  wife  Baucis.  The  gods  rewarded  their 
hosts  by  changing  their  cottage  into  a  splendid  temple,  and  sent 
floods  which  drowned  their  churlish  neighbours. 

A  late  echo  of  the  story  of  Lot  has  been  met  with  in  Persia. 
The  great  Persian  desert  is  called  Dasht-i-hd,  or,  more  correctly, 
Lut.  We  are  told  that,  'as  regards  the  term  Lut,  in  the  great 
desert  the  guides  point  out  one  or  more  Shcthr-i-Lttt,  or  Cities  of 
Lot,  which  are  in  reality  freaks  of  nature  !  They  explain  that  the 
Almighty  destroyed  them  by  fire  from  heaven,  as  was  the  case 
with  the  cities  above  which  now  roll  the  waters  of  the  Dead 
Sea2.' 

16.  Sodom  :  see  above. 

17-19  and  22  6-33  «.  from  but  Abraham  stood  yet  ...  to 
left  communing-  with  Abraham,  are  sometimes  regarded  as  later 

1  As  told,  for  instance,  in  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  viii.  611-724. 

2  Ten  Thousand  Miles  in  Persia,  by  Major  P.  M.  Sykes,  p.  32. 


216  GENESIS  18.  19-23.     J 

19  earth  shall  be  blessed  in  him?  For  I  have  known  him, 
to  the  end  that  he  may  command  his  children  and  his 
household  after  him,  that  they  may  keep  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  to  do  justice  and  judgement ;  to  the  end  that  the 
Lord  may  bring   upon  Abraham  that  which  he  hath 

20  spoken  of  him.  And  the  Lord  said,  Because  the  cry  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  is  great,  and  because  their  sin  is 

21  very  grievous;  I  will  go  down  now,  and  see  whether 
they  have   done  altogether  according  to  the  cry  of  it, 

22  which  is  come  unto  me;  and  if  not,  I  will  know.  And 
the  men  turned  from  thence,  and  went  toward  Sodom  : 

23  but  Abraham  stood  yet  before  the  Lord.     And  Abraham 

additions  to  the  original  story.      If  so  xix.    i  a,  '  And   the  two 
angels  came  to  Sodom  at  even/  will  also  be  an  insertion. 

18.  shall  "be  blessed  in  him.     Cf.  xii.  3. 

19.  X  have  known  him:  'known,  approved,  and  chosen,' 
'  recognized,'  cf.  Amos  iii.  2. 

to  the  end  that  the  LORD  may  bring  upon  Abraham  that 
which  he  hath  spoken :  an  illustration  of  the  principle  that  many 
of  the  predictions  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament  were  not  absolute, 
but  depended  on  the  conduct  of  those  to  whom  they  referred. 
Cf.  Jonah  iii.  1-4,  10. 

20.  because  .  .  .  because:  R.  V.  marg.  'verily  .  .  .  verily.' 
the    cry   of   Sodom,  &c.      The  cities  are   personified,  and 

thought  of  as  crying  to  God  to  punish  the  sins  of  their  inhabitants. 
For  Gomorrah  see  above. 

their  sin :  illustrated  in  xix. 

21.  I  will  go  down  now,  and  see  :  anthropomorphic  lan- 
guage after  the  style  of  this  document. 

22.  But  Abraham  stood  yet  before  the  LORD.  '  The  men,' 
according  to  the  usage  in  the  previous  part  of  the  narrative, 
should  be  the  three  men  including  Yahweh.  There  is  no  intima- 
tion that  Yahweh  had  separated  from  his  companions,  cf.  on  17- 
19.  If,  however,  we  take  the  story  as  it  stands,  we  gather  that  at 
this  point  Yahweh  separated  Himself  from  the  two  'men,'  who 
went  on  to  Sodom  by  themselves.  According  to  an  ancient 
Rabbinical  authority,  the  Tikkun  Sopherim,  or  '  Corrections  of  the 
Scribes,'  this  clause  was  originally  '  but  Yahweh  stood  yet  before 
Abraham,'  and  '  was  altered  to  the  present  text  because  of  the 
double  sense  of  "stood  before,"  which  also  means  "stand  at  the 
service  of."    But  it  is  not  evidence  of  another  reading,  but  only  of 


GENESIS  18.  2^-28.     J  217 

drew  near,  and  said,  Wilt  thou  consume  the  righteous 
with  the  wicked  ?     Peradventure  there  be  fifty  righteous  24 
within  the  city :  wilt  thou  consume  and  not  spare  the 
place  for  the  fifty  righteous  that  are  therein  ?     That  be  25 
far  from  thee  to  do  after  this  manner,  to  slay  the  righteous 
with  the  wicked,  that  so  the  righteous  should  be  as  the 
wicked ;  that  be  far  from  thee :  shall  not  the  Judge  of 
all  the  earth  do  right  ?    And  the  Lord  said,  If  I  find  in  26 
Sodom  fifty  righteous  within  the  city,  then  I  will  spare 
all  the  place  for  their  sake.     And  Abraham  answered  27 
and  said,  Behold  now,  I  have  taken  upon  me  to  speak 
unto  the  Lord,  which  am  but  dust  and  ashes  :  peradven-  2S 
ture  there  shall  lack  five  of  the  fifty  righteous :  wilt  thou 
destroy  all  the  city  for  lack  of  five  ?     And  he  said,  I  will 

the  offence  which  the  Rabbinical  writers  took  at  the  represen- 
tation of  a  man  detaining  God  instead  of  God  detaining  the  man  V 

23.  Wilt  thou  consume  the  righteous  with  the  wicked? 
The  older  Israelite  theology  held  that  a  man's  fortunes  were 
always  exactly  proportioned  to  his  conduct,  so  that  if  a  man 
suffered  it  was  a  clear  proof  that  he  had  sinned.  With  the 
growth  of  sympathy,  the  development  of  the  moral  sense,  and 
the  enlarging  of  experience,  it  became  more  and  more  impos- 
sible to  hold  this  doctrine,  and  later  books,  e.  g.  Ezek.  xviii,  Job, 
Ps.  lxxiii,  are  much  perplexed  by  the  problem  of  the  sufferings 
of  the  incident.  If  the  intercession  of  Abraham  is  a  later  addition, 
it  is  probably  meant  to  draw  from  the  incident  the  moral  that 
God's  judgements  carefully  distinguish  between  the  innocent  and 
the  guilty.  It  is  clearly  implied  that  the  only  righteous  persons 
in  Sodom  were  Lot  and  his  family,  and  these  were  saved.  The 
author  does  not  seem  to  recognize  the  innocence  of  young  children 
as  the  Book  of  Jonah  does,  where  God  gives  as  a  special  reason  for 
his  mercy  to  Nineveh  that  there  were  therein  '  more  than  sixscore 
thousand  persons  that  cannot  discern  between  their  right  hand 
and  their  left  hand  ;  and  also  much  cattle.' 

27.  the  Lord:  possibly  'my  lord,'  as  in  verse  3;  but  more 
probably  a  divine  name,  the  '  Adonay,'  which  the  vowel  points  of 
the  Massoretic  text  direct  us  to  read  instead  of  Yahweh,  cf.  on 
ii.  4. 

1  Dillmann. 


218  GENESIS  18.  29— 19.  3.     J 

29  not  destroy  it,  if  I  find  there  forty  and  five.  And  he 
spake  unto  him  yet  again,  and  said,  Peradventure  there 
shall  be  forty  found  there.     And  he  said,  I  will  not  do  it 

30  for  the  forty's  sake.  And  he  said,  Oh  let  not  the  Lord 
be  angry,  and  I  will  speak  :  peradventure  there  shall 
thirty  be  found  there.     And  he  said,  I  will  not  do  it,  if 

31  I  find  thirty  there.  And  he  said,  Behold  now,  I  have 
taken  upon  me  to  speak  unto  the  Lord  :  peradventure 
there  shall  be  twenty  found  there.     And  he  said,  I  will 

32  not  destroy  it  for  the  twenty's  sake.  And  he  said,  Oh 
let  not  the  Lord  be  angry,  and  I  will  speak  yet  but  this 
once  :  peradventure  ten  shall  be  found  there.     And  he 

33  said,  I  will  not  destroy  it  for  the  ten's  sake.  And  the 
Lord  went  his  way,  as  soon  as  he  had  left  communing 
with  Abraham  :  and  Abraham  returned  unto  his  place. 

19  And  the  two  angels  came  to  Sodom  at  even ;  and  Lot 
sat  in  the  gate  of  Sodom  :  and  Lot  saw  them,  and  rose 
up  to  meet  them  ;  and  he  bowed  himself  with  his  face  to 
2  the  earth  ;  and  he  said,  Behold  now,  my  lords,  turn 
aside,  I  pray  you,  into  your  servant's  house,  and  tarry  all 
night,  and  wash  your  feet,  and  ye  shall  rise  up  early,  and 
go  on  your  way.  And  they  said,  Nay ;  but  we  will  abide 
a,  m  the  street  all  night.  And  he  urged  them  greatly ;  and 
they  turned  in  unto  him,  and  entered  into  his  house ;  and 
he  made  them  a  feast,  and  did  bake  unleavened  bread, 

33.  his  place :  Mamre  near  Hebron,  see  verse  1. 

xix.  1.    and  the  two  angels  :    cf.  xviii.    22,   or  perhaps   read 
'the  men'  instead  of  'the  two  angels.' 

the  gate  :  the  public  meeting-place  in  an  eastern  city,  where    j 
strangers  would  expect  to  meet  with  a  host.      Lot's  behaviour  is 
simply  the  hospitality  which  an  honourable  sheikh  would  offer  to 
distinguished  guests.     The  ;  sin  of  Sodom  '  was  aggravated  by  its 
gross  violation  of  the  rights  of  the  guest,  which  were  most  sacred. 

2.  we  will  abide  in  the  street :  a  mere  form  of  courtesy. 

3.  unleavened  :  because  made  in  haste. 


GENESIS   19.  4-14.     J  219 

and  they  did  eat.     But  before  they  lay  down,  the  men  4 
of  the  city,    eve?i  the  men  of  Sodom,  compassed   the 
house  round,  both  young  and  old,  all  the  people  from 
every  quarter  ;  and  they  called  unto  Lot,  and  said  unto  5 
him,  Where  are  the  men  which  came  in  to  thee  this  night  ? 
bring  them  out  unto  us,  that  we  may  know  them.     And  6 
Lot  went  out  unto  them  to  the  door,  and  shut  the  door 
after  him.     And  he  said,  I  pray  you,  my  brethren,  do  not  7 
so  wickedly.     Behold  now,  I  have  two  daughters  which  8 
have  not  known  man ;  let  me,  I  pray  you,  bring  them 
out  unto  you,  and  do  ye  to  them  as  is  good  in  your  eyes  : 
only  unto  these  men  do  nothing  ;  forasmuch  as  they  are 
come  under  the  shadow  of  my  roof.     And  they  said,  9 
Stand  back.     And  they  said,  This  one  fellow  came  in  to 
sojourn,  and  he  will  needs  be  a  judge  :  now  will  we  deal 
worse  with  thee,  than  with  them.     And  they  pressed  sore 
upon  the  man,  even  Lot,  and  drew  near  to  break  the  door. 
But  the  men  put  forth  their  hand,  and  brought  Lot  into  10 
the  house  to  them,  and  shut  to  the  door.     And  they  11 
smote  the  men  that  were  at  the  door  of  the  house  with 
blindness,  both  small  and  great :  so  that  they  wearied 
themselves  to  find  the  door.     And  the  men  said  unto  Lot,  12 
Hast  thou  here  any  besides  ?  son  in  law,  and  thy  sons,  and 
thy  daughters,  and  whomsoever  thou  hast  in  the  city; 
bring  them  out  of  the  place  :  for  we  will  destroy  this  place,  13 
because  the  cry  of  them  is  waxen  great  before  the  Lord; 
and  the  Lord  hath  sent  us  to  destroy  it.     And  Lot  went  14 
out,  and  spake  unto  his  sons  in  law,  which  married  his 

4.  all  the  people  from  every  quarter  :  perhaps  intended  to 
be  taken  literally— there  were  none  righteous,  cf.  xviii.  32. 
8.  forasmuch:  R.V.  marg.  !  for  therefore.' 
14.  his     sons    in     law,    which    married    his    daughters : 

better  as  R.  V.   marg.   'which  were  to  marry.'     The  narrative 
clearly  implies  that  Lot's  daughters  were  still  living  at  home. 


220  GENESIS  19.  15-19.     J 

daughters,  and  said,  Up,  get  you  out  of  this  place;  for 
the  Lord  will  destroy  the  city.     But  he  seemed  unto  his 

15  sons  in  law  as  one  that  mocked.  And  when  the  morning 
arose,  then  the  angels  hastened  Lot,  saying,  Arise,  take 
thy  wife,  and  thy  two  daughters  which  are  here  ;  lest  thou 

16  be  consumed  in  the  iniquity  of  the  city.  But  he  lingered ; 
and  the  men  laid  hold  upon  his  hand,  and  upon  the 
hand  of  his  wife,  and  upon  the  hand  of  his  two  daughters  ; 
the  Lord  being  merciful  unto  him  :    and  they  brought 

1 7  him  forth,  and  set  him  without  the  city.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  when  they  had  brought  them  forth  abroad,  that  he 
said,  Escape  for  thy  life;  look  not  behind  thee,  neither 
stay  thou  in  all  the  Plain ;  escape  to  the  mountain,  lest 

18  thou  be  consumed.     And  Lot  said  unto  them,  Oh,  not 

19  so,  my  lord  :  behold  now,  thy  servant  hath  found  grace 
in  thy  sight,  and  thou  hast  magnified  thy  mercy,  which 
thou  hast  shewed  unto  me  in  saving  my  life ;  and  I  can- 
not escape  to  the  mountain,  lest  evil  overtake  me,  and 

15.  lest  thou  be  consumed.  It  is  implied  that  Yahweh 
had  fixed  a  time  beyond  which  the  destruction  of  Sodom  could 
not  be  postponed  ;  probably  sunrise  next  morning  ;  cf.  verse  23. 
Unless  Lot  could  be  got  out  of  the  city  before  then  he  would 
perish. 

iniquity.     R.  V.  marg.  'punishment.' 

16.  the  LOKD:  perhaps  implying  that  Yahweh  was  still  with 
the  'men,'  cf.  on  17-19,  and  22. 

1*7.  look  not  behind  thee.  Mortals  may  not  look  with 
impunity  either  upon  Yahweh  or  upon  His  special  judgements. 
Cf.  on  ii.  ai,  xv.  12,  xvi.  13. 

the  mountain :  probably  the  highlands  to  the  east  of  the 
Dead  Sea. 

18.  my  lord:  R.  V.  marg.  'O  Lord.' 

19.  grace:   favour. 

lest  evil  (R.  V.  marg.  'the  eviP)  overtake  me.  If  the  catas- 
trophe happened  before  he  reached  the  refuge  appointed  for  him, 
he  would  share  the  common  ruin  ;  'the  mountain'  was  distant, 
and  he  might  not  get  there  in  time.  Could  not  Yahweh  appoint 
him  a  nearer  refuge  ? 


GENESIS  19.  20-26.     J  221 

I  die :  behold  now,  this  city  is  near  to  flee  unto,  and  it  20 
is  a  little  one :  Oh,  let  me  escape  thither,  (is  it  not  a 
little  one?)  and  my  soul  shall  live.     And  he  said  unto  21 
him,  See,  I  have  accepted  thee  concerning  this  thing 
also,  that  I  will  not  overthrow  the  city  of  which  thou  hast 
spoken.     Haste  thee,  escape  thither;  for  I  cannot  do  22 
any  thing  till  thou  be  come  thither.     Therefore  the  name 
of  the  city  was  called  Zoar.     The  sun  was  risen  upon  the  23 
earth  when  Lot  came  unto  Zoar.     Then  the  Lord  rained  24 
upon  Sodom  and  upon  Gomorrah  brimstone  and  fire 
from  the  Lord  out  of  heaven;  and  he  overthrew  those  25 
cities,  and  all  the  Plain,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
cities,  and  that  which  grew  upon  the  ground.     But  his  26 
wife  looked  back  from  behind  him,  and  she  became  a 

20.  a  little  one.  This  city  (see  on  verse  22)  was  to  have 
perished  with  the  other  cities  of  the  Plain,  but  Lot  prays  that  it 
may  be  spared,  to  afford  him  a  refuge — it  is  only  a  small  con- 
cession. 

my  soul :  a  misleading  translation,  the  Hebrew  {lit.  l  my 
life  ')  simply  means  an  emphatic  '  I,'  or  we  might  render,  <  that 
my  life  may  be  spared.' 

22.  I  cannot  do  any  thing-  till  thou  he  come  thither.  For 
a  while  the  destroying  angel  stays  his  hand  that  Lot  may  escape  — 
but  only  for  a  while  ;  Lot  would  not  have  lingered  indefinitely 
with  impunity,  cf.  verse  15. 

Therefore  the  name  of  the  city  was  called  Zoar :  i.  e. 
'  little,'  cf.  verse  20,  and  for  the  site  of  the  city  xiii.  10  and  xiv.  8. 

24.  See  above,  p.  214.      *  Origin,'  &c. 

26.  His  wife  looked  back,  &c.  Cf.  verse  17.  Similarly  in 
the  Greek  legend  Orpheus  visited  Hades  to  bring  his  wife  Eury- 
dice  back  to  the  upper  world.  He  obtained  permission  to  do  so 
on  condition  that  he  did  not  look  round  until  he  had  left  Hades. 
He  violated  the  condition,  and  Eurydice  had  to  remain. 

she  became  a  pillar  of  salt.  Josephus1  and  the  Book  of 
Wisdom 2  speak  of  this  pillar  as  still  existing  ;  and  recently,  at  any 
rate,  there  was  still  standing3,  on  the  hill  of  Usdum,  at  the  south- 


1  Antiquities,  I.  xi.  4.  2  Wisdom,  x.  7. 

3  Lynch,  Expedition  to  the  Jordan  and  Dead  Sea,  p.  307,  ap. 
Dilhnann. 


222  GENESIS  19.  27, W.     J 

2  7  pillar  of  salt.     And  Abraham  gat  up  early  in  the  morning 

28  to  the  place  where  he  had  stood  before  the  Lord  :  and 

he  looked  toward  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  toward  all 

the  land  of  the  Plain,  and  beheld,  and,  lo,  the  smoke  of 

the  land  went  up  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace. 

west  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  '  a  high  round  pillar  of  crystalline  salt 
about  forty  feet  high.'  This  may  be  the  pillar  referred  to  by 
Josephus  and  Wisdom,  and  perhaps  that  which  tradition  had  in 
view  from  the  outset.  If  so,  however,  it  would  somewhat  mili- 
tate against  the  theory  that  the  cities  of  the  plain  were  at  the 
northern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea.  According  to  Dillmann,  '  the 
legend  originated  in  the  existence  of  some  pillar  of  rock-salt.' 
According  to  Luke  xvii.  28-32,  our  Lord  cited  the  story  of  Lot  as 
an  illustration  of  the  suddenness  of  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  ;  and  concluded,  '  let  him  that  is  in  the  field  likewise  not 
return  back.  Remember  Lot's  wife.'  This  paragraph  is  not 
found  in  the  parallel  passages  in  Matthew  and  Mark,  and  may  not 
have  been  part  of  our  Lord's  discourse.  In  any  case,  this  casual 
reference  must  not  be  taken  as  an  authoritative  declaration  by 
Christ  that  the  turning  of  Lot's  wife  into  a  pillar  of  salt  was 
an  actual  historical  event.  Dr.  Plummer l  writes,  '  Note  that 
Christ  says,  "Remember,1'  not  '-Behold."  Nothing  that  is  in 
existence  is  appealed  to,  but  only  what  has  been  told2.' 

27.  gfat  up  early:  a  single  word  in  the  Hebrew  ;  the  transla- 
tion is  misleading.  Etymologically  the  word  has  nothing  to  do 
with  '  early.'  In  one  way  the  rendering  is  correct,  because  in 
hot  countries  people  get  up  at  what  we  should  consider  an  early 
hour  in  order  to  do  their  work  before  the  heat  becomes  intoler- 
able. But  the  English  Version  gives  the  impression  of  'unusually 
early,'  and  this  is  wrong.  With  very  few  exceptions  whenever 
we  read  of  any  one  getting  up,  we  are  told — according  to  the 
English  Version— that  he  "got  up  early.'  Perhaps  'got  up  and 
dressed,'  though  prosaic,  would  be  a  more  exact  rendering3. 

to  the  pla-ce,  &c.  Cf.  xviii.  22.  All  the  narrative  indicates 
as  to  this  place  is  that  it  was  on  the  way  from  Hebron  to  Sodom, 
i.e.  west  of  Hebron. 

28.  the  smoke  of  the  land  went  up.  This  feature  of  the 
narrative  may  have  been  suggested  by  the  fact  that,  owing  to  the 
rapid  evaporation  of  the  dense  water,  a  mist  continually  hangs 
over  the  Dead  Sea. 


1  Master  of  University  College,  Durham,  in  his  Luke  in  the  Inter- 
national Critical  Commentary. 

a  The  italics  are  Dr.  Plummer's.  :1  Fiirst,  Concordance. 


GENESIS  19.  29,30.     PJ  223 

[P]  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  God  destroyed  the  cities  29 
of  the  Plain,  that  God  remembered  Abraham,  and  sent  Lot 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  overthrow,  when  he  overthrew  the 
cities  in  the  which  Lot  dwelt. 


[J]  And  Lot  went  up  out  of  Zoar,  and  dwelt  in  the 
mountain,  and  his  two  daughters  with  him  ;  for  he  feared 

29.  Priestly  Document.  Observe  the  use  of  the  Divine  name 
•  God,1  Elohim.  One  motive  for  the  abbreviation  of  the  story  was 
the  desire  to  omit  the  revolting  details  given  in  the  other  docu- 
ment. This  verse,  as  it  stood  originally  in  the  Priestly  Document, 
connected  xiii.  12,  the  separation  of  Abraham  and  Lot,  and  xvi. 
1  a,  the  introduction  to  the  Priestly  account  of  the  birth  of  Isaac. 

30-36.  Primitive  Document.  The  origin  of  Moab  and  Amnion. 
Whatever  may  be  the  character  of  the  preceding  narrative,  this 
section,  at  any  rate,  is  tribal  history  in  the  form  of  a  story 
about  individuals — a  result  of  criticism  which  lessens  its  painful 
character.  It  indicates  a  traditional  belief  in  the  kinship  of  Moab 
and  Ammon  to  Israel,  as  descendants  of  Lot  the  nephew  of 
Abraham.  This  view  of  the  relation  of  the  tribes  is  partially 
confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  language  of  Moab;  as  we  find  it  on 
the  Moabite  stone,  is  practically  Hebrew ;  and  that  the  relation  of 
Chemosh  to  Moab  is  very  similar  to  that  of  Yahweh  to  Israel. 

The  form  of  the  names  Moab  and  Ammon  would  suggest  some 
such  story  to  Israelite  ears  ;  and  it  has  been  supposed  that  the 
narrative  is  a  mere  deduction  from  a  mistaken  etymology,  inter- 
preted in  the  light  of  the  constant  feud  between  Israel  on  the 
one  hand  and  Moab  and  Ammon  on  the  other.  But,  making 
every  allowance  for  the  virulence  of  family  quarrels  and  for  the 
Oriental  habit  of  insulting  the  ancestors  of  one's  enemies,  it  is 
strange  that  the  Israelite  historian  should,  in  the  same  breath, 
assert  that  Moab  and  Ammon  were  his  kinsfolk  and  brand  them 
with  the  shame  of  an  incestuous  origin.  Some  alternative  view 
may  be  possible.  For  instance  ,!,  the  story  may  have  originated 
with  Moab  and  Ammon,  and  have  been  intended  to  claim  a  con- 
nexion with  the  heroic  figures  of  Lot  and  Abraham.  Possibly 
the  original  story  narrated  the  extinction  of  all  the  human  race 
except  Lot  and  his  daughters  ;  and  their  conduct  was  regarded  as 
an  act  of  heroism  which  averted  the  utter  ruin  of  the  human  race. 
C(.  the  birth  of  Sinfiotli  in  Sigurd  the  Volsung  (Morris). 

30.  he  feared  to  dwell  in  Zoar  :  lest  after  all  Yahweh  should 
repent  of  having  spared  the  city,  and  destroy  it. 

1  The  following  view  is  substantially  Gunkel's. 


30 


224  GENESIS  19.  3f^8.     J 

to  dwell  in  Zoar  :  and  he  dwelt  in  a  cave,  he  and  his  two 

31  daughters.  And  the  firstborn  said  unto  the  younger,  Our 
father  is  old,  and  there  is  not  a  man  in  the  earth  to  come 

32  in  unto  us  after  the  manner  of  all  the  earth  :  come,  let  us 
make  our  father  drink  wine,  and  we  will  lie  with  him,  that 

33  we  may  preserve  seed  of  our  father.  And  they  made 
their  father  drink  wine  that  night :  and  the  firstborn  went 
in,  and  lay  with  her  father ;  and  he  knew  not  when  she 

34  lay  down,  nor  when  she  arose.  And  it  came  to  pass  on 
the  morrow,  that  the  firstborn  said  unto  the  younger,  Be- 
hold, I  lay  yesternight  with  my  father :  let  us  make  him 
drink  wine  this  night  also ;  and  go  thou  in,  and  lie  with 

35  him,  that  we  may  preserve  seed  of  our  father.  And 
they  made  their  father  drink  wine  that  night  also :  and 
the  younger  arose,  and  lay  with  him ;  and  he  knew  not 

36  when  she  lay  down,  nor  when  she  arose.  Thus  were 
both  the  daughters  of  Lot  with  child  by  their  father. 

37  And  the  firstborn  bare  a  son,  and  called  his  name  Moab  : 
the  same  is  the  father  of  the  Moabites  unto  this  day. 

38  And  the  younger,  she  also  bare  a  son,  and  called  his 

a  cave:    perhaps   rather    'the    cave,'    probably    some   cave 
connected  with  Lot  either  by  its  name  or  by  some  tradition. 
31.  Oxxv  father  is  old :  so  that  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost. 

there  is  not  a  man  in  the  earth:  either  expressing  her 
belief  that  Zoar  had  now  been  destroyed  and  that  now  all  man- 
kind had  perished  ;  or  referring  to  their  isolation  ;  or  indicating 
that  the  story  in  its  original  form  was  an  alternative  and  parallel 
to  that  of  the  Flood— the  catastrophe  had  involved  the  whole  race 
except  Lot  and  his  daughters. 

37.  Moab.  The  Septuagint  adds  after  '  Moab '  '  saying, 
"  From  my  father,"  '  i.  e.  in  Hebrew  mtdbhi,  a  popular  etymo- 
logy of  the  name,  which  has  also  been  explained  as  '  seed  of 
a  father';  or  as  from  yd bh,  'to  wish  for'j  and  meaning  'the 
desirable  land  '  ;  or  again  as  from  an  Arabic  root  wa'aba,  '  to  be 
affected  with  shame  or  anger,'  which  is  very  improbable.  Moab 
is  mentioned  on  a  monument  of  Rameses  II,  c,  b.  c.  1300.  The 
territory  of  Moab  lay  along  the  east  of  the  Dead  Sea  and 
northwards. 


GENESIS  19.  38—20.  1.     JE  225 

name  Ben-ammi :  the  same  is  the  father  of  the  children 
of  Amnion  unto  this  day. 

[E]  And  Abraham  journeyed  from  thence  toward  the  20 

..3.  Ben-ammi  :  i.  e.  according  to  the  familiar  use  of  lammi  in 
Hebrew,  'son  of  my  race.'  The  Septuagint  has  'called  his  name 
Amman,  the  son  of  my  race.'  'Ammi,  however,  in  proper  names 
is  now  usually  explained  either  in  its  Arabic  meaning  of  'paternal 
uncle'  or  'kinsman,'  or  as  a  Divine  name  or  title  ;  but  Ammon  is 
not  necessarily  derived  from  ''Ammi.  The  people  are  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  '  Ammonites,'  sometimes,  as  here,  '  bene  Ammon/ 
'  children  of  Ammon.'  The  territory  of  Ammon  is  said  to  have 
been  originally  east  of  the  Jordan,  and  north  of  Moab,  Judges  xi. 
12-29  ;  but,  at  any  rate  after  the  Israelite  conquest  of  Palestine, 
Ammon  occupied  the  country  to  the  east  of  Reuben  and  Gad. 
A  word  in  the  Amarna1  tablets,  which  is  apparently  the  name  of 
a  Babylonian  deity,  has  been  rendered  Ammon  2. 

xx.  Abraham  at  Gerar.  (Elohistic  Document,  E,  except  the 
last  verse,  18,  which  is  an  editorial  note,  R.) 

1.  Abraham  comes  to  Gerar. 

2.  He  gives  out  that  Sarah  is  his  sister,  and  the  king,  Abime- 
lech,  takes  her  into  his  harem. 

3-7.  God  tells  the  king  that  she  is  a  married  woman,  and  bids 
him  restore  her  to  her  husband. 

8.  Abimelech  tells  the  story  to  his  household. 

9,  10.    He  remonstrates  with  Abraham. 

11-13.  Abraham  explains  that  he  was  afraid  of  being  ill-treated 
on  account  of  Sarah  ;  moreover  she  was  bis  half-sister. 

14-16.  Abimelech  compensates  Abraham. 

17  [18=  R].  In  response  to  Abraham's  prayer  God  relieves 
the  king's  harem  of  the  sterility  (which  Yahweh  had  inflicted  on 
them  on  account  of  Sarah). 

Source,  &c.  This  is  the  first  complete  narrative  from  the 
Elohistic  Document,  E  ;  it  is  not  the  beginning  of  that  work s,  but 
the  earlier  portions  have  for  the  most  part  been  omitted,  either 
because  they  were  virtual  repetitions  of  the  parallel  sections  of 
the  Primitive  Document,  or  because  they  were  not  consistent  with 
the  religious  ideas  of  the  editors.  Other  versions  of  the  same 
story  are  found  in  xii.  10-20.  xxvi.  1-11,  passages  in  J,  which 
see.  The  more  advanced  character  of  this  version  is  shown  from 
the  fact  that  the  writer  provides  an  apology  for  Abraham's  deceit — 

1  About  B.C.  1400;  seep.  71.  2  Winckler. 

3  Cf.  on  chapter  xv. 


I 


226  GENESIS  20.  2-5.     E 

land  of  the  South,  and  dwelt  between  Kadesh  and  Shur ; 

2  and  he  sojourned  in  Gerar.  And  Abraham  said  of  Sarah 
his  wife,  She  is  my  sister  :   and  Abimelech  king  of  Gerar 

3  sent,  and  took  Sarah.  But  God  came  to  Abimelech  in 
a  dream  of  the  night,  and  said  to  him,  Behold,  thou  art 
but  a  dead  man,  because  of  the  woman  which  thou  hast 

4  taken ;  for  she  is  a  man's  wife.  Now  Abimelech  had 
not  come  near  her  :  and  he  said,  Lord,  wilt  thou  slay 

5  even  a  righteous  nation  ?  Said  he  not  himself  unto  me, 
She  is  my  sister  ?  and  she,  even  she  herself  said,  He  is 

Sarah  really  was  his  sister  as  well  as  his  wife  ;  and  that  the 
religious  character  of  the  patriarch  is  emphasized— he  is  a  prophet. 
Notice  that  the  writer  speaks  of  ■  God,'  not  '  Yahweh.' 

1.  from  thence.  During  the  previous  narrative  Abraham  has 
been  near  Hebron,  xviii.  1  ;  '  thence '  may  refer  to  Hebron,  and 
the  words  may  be  an  insertion  of  an  editor  to  connect  this  chapter 
with  what  precedes.  If,  however,  they  are  taken  from  E,  they 
refer  to  a  lost  passage,  and  we  do  not  know  what  place  is  indicated 
by  '  thence.' 

South..     See  xii.  9. 

Kadesh.     See  xiv.  7. 

Shur.     See  xvi.  7. 

Gerar  (cf.  x.  19),  is  probably  about  five  miles  south  of  Gaza  ; 
but,  as  this  position  does  not  suit  the  description  '  between 
Kadesh  and  Shur,'  it  has  been  supposed  that  either  there  was 
another  Gerar  in  the  south  {Negeb),  or  that  the  clause,  'and  dwelt 
between  Kadesh  and  Shur,'  does  not  belong  to  E.  In  the 
Hebrew  there  seems  to  be  a  pla}'  upon  words  in  the  last  clause, 
'  wayyagor  (and  he  sojourned) '  in  '  Gerar.' 

2.  She  is  my  sister  :  so  xii.  13,  19,  xxvi.  7. 

Abimelech :  king  of  Gerar,  so  xxvi.  1.  Abimelech  *  '  Melech 
is  father,'  Melech  being  the  Divine  name  or  title,  represented  in 
E.  V.  by  Moloch. 

took  Sarah  :  into  his  harem. 

3.  in  a  dream.  It  is  a  characteristic  of  this  document  that 
revelations  are  often  made  in  dreams. 

4.  had  not  come  near  her  :  another  softening  of  the  older 
story  ;  cf.  xii.  19,  also  xxvi.  9. 

a  rig-hteous  nation  :  implying  that  the  people  would  suffer 
for  the  error  of  Abimelech,  as  Israel  was  punished  for  the  sin  of 
Achan.  '  Righteous '  here  means  simply  '  innocent  of  any 
intention  to  do  wrong  in  this  particular  case.' 


GENESIS  20.  6-12.     E  227 

my  brother :  in  the  integrity  of  my  heart  and  the  inno- 
cency  of  my  hands  have  I  done  this.     And  God  said  6 
unto  him  in  the  dream,  Yea,  I  know  that  in  the  integrity 
of  thy  heart  thou  hast  done  this,  and  I  also  withheld  thee 
from  sinning  against  me  :  therefore  suffered  I  thee  not 
to  touch  her.     Now  therefore  restore  the  man's  wife  ;  for  7 
he  is  a  prophet,  and  he  shall  pray  for  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  live  :  and  if  thou  restore  her  not,  know  thou  that 
thou  shalt  surely  die,  thou,  and  all  that  are  thine.     And  8 
Abimelech  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  called  all  his 
servants,  and  told  all  these  things  in  their  ears  :  and  the 
men  were  sore  afraid.     Then  Abimelech  called  Abraham,  9 
and  said  unto  him,  What  hast  thou  done  unto  us  ?  and 
wherein  have  I  sinned  against  thee,  that  thou  hast  brought 
on  me  and  on  my  kingdom  a  great  sin  ?  thou  hast  done 
deeds  unto  me  that  ought  not  to  be  done.  And  Abimelech  10 
said  unto  Abraham,  What  sawest  thou,  that  thou  hast 
done  this  thing  ?     And  Abraham  said,  Because  I  thought,  11 
Surely  the  fear  of  God  is  not  in  this  place ;  and  they  will 
slay  me  for  my  wife's  sake.     And  moreover  she  is  indeed  12 

7.  a  prophet:  and  therefore  specially  under  Divihe*protection. 
This  is  the  firstjnentipn  of  a  prophet  in  the  Bible,  and  the  only- 
place  where  Abraham  is  called  a  prophet.  The  prophet  is  one 
who  declares  God's  will  to  men  ;  but  here  there  is  no  question 
of  any  such  declaration,  the  only  religious  function  exercised  by 
Abraham  is  that  of  intercession.  The  Elohistic  Document  was 
probably  compiled  under  the  influence  of  the  prophets,  who 
claimed  Abraham  as  the  founder  c^{  their  order. 

8.  rose  early.     See  xix.  27. 

10.  What  sawest  thou:  commonly  interpreted,  'What  was 
your  object?'  but  an  alteration  in  the  position  of  a  single  letter 
would  give  i  What  didst  thou  fear  '  ? ' 

11.  the  fear  of  God  is  not  in  this  place.  An  early  testi- 
mony to  the  moral  influence  of  religion. 

for  my  wife's  sake.     Murder  would  be  regarded  as  less  of 

1  Yr'Th  instead  of  R'yTh. 
Q  2 


228  GENESIS  20.  13-16.     E 

my  sister,  the  daughter  of  my  father,  but  not  the  daughter 
13  of  my  mother  ;  and  she  became  my  wife  :  and  it  came  to 
pass,  when  God  caused  me  to  wander  from  my  father's 
house,  that  I  said  unto  her,  This  is  thy  kindness  which 
thou  shalt  shew  unto  me  ;  at  every  place  whither  we  shall 
r4  come,  say  of  me,  He  is  my  brother.  And  Abimelech 
took  sheep  and  oxen,  and  menservants  and  women- 
servants,   and  gave  them  unto  Abraham,  and  restored 

15  him  Sarah  his  wife.     And  Abimelech  said,  Behold,  my 

16  land  is  before  thee  :  dwell  where  it  pleaseth  thee.  And 
unto  Sarah  he  said,  Behold,  I  have  given  thy  brother 
a  thousand  pieces  of  silver  :  behold,  it  is  for  thee  a  cover- 

a  crime  than  adultery  ;    or  the  motive   for  killing  the   husband 
might  be  merely  to  be  quit  of  interference  or  remonstrance. 

12.  she  is  indeed  my  sister,  &c.  A  half-truth  which  Abime- 
lech treats  with  the  scorn  it  deserved,  verse  16.  Marriage  with 
a  half-sister  is  forbidden  Deut.  xxvii.  22,  Lev.  xviii.  9,  11,  xx.  17, 
but  the  incident  of  Amnon  and  Tamar,  2  Sam.  xiii.  13,  implies 
that  such  a  union  was  not  impossible  in  the  time  of  David,  for 
Tamar,  Amnon's  half-sister,  suggests  that  David  might  consent 
to  their  marriage.  Such  unions  were  legal  amongst  the  Egyp- 
tians and  other  ancient  peoples.  Probably,  however,  this  sisterly 
relationship  of  Sarah  to  Abraham  is  simply  a  theory  by  which 
the  Elohist  relieves  the  patriarch  of  the  guilt  of  a  direct  lie. 

13.  God  caused  me  to  wander:  implying  that  in  E  also 
Abraham  left  his  home  in  obedience  to  a  Divine  command. 

I  said  unto  her,  &c.     Cf.  xii.  11-13. 

14.  menservants  and  womenservants :  male  and  female 
slaves.     Cf.  xii.  16. 

15.  dwell  where  it  pleaseth  thee.  Pharaoh,  on  the  contrary, 
turned  Abraham  out. 

16.  I  have  given :  rather  'I  give,' or  'am  giving';  the  words 
accompanied  the  act,  and  did  not  describe  a  previous  act. 

thy  brother :  ironical  ;  otherwise  explained  as  an  accept- 
ance of  the  truth  of  Abraham's  statement.  As  Abraham  and 
Sarah  continued  to  live  in  the  country  as  husband  and  wife  the 
use  of  the  word  'brother'  cannot  have  been  meant  to  conceal  the 
fact  that  Sarah  was  a  married  woman. 

a  thousand  pieces  of  silver  :  i.  e.  shekels,  a  very  consider- 
able sum  of  money.  The  shekel  contained  about  as  much  silver 
as  our  half-crown,  but  its  purchasing  power  or  real  value  was 


GENESIS  20.  17,18.'     ER  229 

ing  of  the  eyes  to  all  that  are  with  thee ;  and  in  respect 
of  all  thou  art  righted.     And  Abraham  prayed  unto  God  :  17 
and  God  healed  Abimelech,  and  his  wife,  and  his  maid- 
servants ;  and  they  bare  children.    [R]  For  the  Lord  had  18 
fast  closed  up  all  the  wombs  of  the  house  of  Abimelech, 
because  of  Sarah  Abraham's  wife. 

very  much  greater.  For  instance,  thirty  shekels  was  the  price 
of  a  slave 1.  In  the  southern  states  of  America  before  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery  800  dollars  or  £160  was  not  an  uncommon  price 
for  an  adult  male  slave,  so  that  1000  shekels  might  very  roughly  be 
equivalent  to  about  £5,000  of  our  money. 

it  is  for  thee  a  covering"  of  the  eyes  :  i.  e.  so  that  Sarah 
no  longer  sees  or  takes  account  of  the  wrong  done  her ;  a  poetic 
expression  for  'compensation.'  So  in  Job  ix.  24  we  read  of  the 
faces  of  the  judges  being  covered,  i.  e.  so  that  they  did  not  see 
what  was  just.  But  in  the  Arabian  NigJits2  a  merchant  speaks  of 
money  lent  him  to  enable  him  to  give  alms  to  the  poor,  and  thus 
establish  his  credit  as  '  that  wherewith  he  hath  veiled  my  face 
before  the  poor.'  This  suggests  that  there  is  a  figurative  reference 
to  the  veiling  of  women ;  unveiled  in  public  they  were  dis- 
honoured ;  this  compensation  restored,  as  it  were,  her  veil  to 
Sarah  ;  purged  her  of  the  disgrace  of  her  recent  experience. 
The  '  eyes '  covered  are  less  probabty  explained  by  some  as  those 
of  the  spectators.   The  R.V.  '  He  is,'  &c,  does  not  make  good  sense. 

in  respect  of  all  (R.  V.  marg.  'before  all  men  ')  thou  art 
righted :  i.  e.  her  character  was  completely  vindicated,  according 
to  the  etiquette  of  the  times.  This  may  have  been  the  meaning 
of  the  original,  but  the  Hebrew  as  we  now  have  it  is  unintelligible. 
The  ancient  versions  vary  from  it,  and  from  each  other,  and  do 
not  improve  matters.  The  Septuagint  has  the  very  suggestive 
rendering  'speak  truth  in  all  things,'  a  rendering  most  creditable 
to  the  moral  susceptibility  of  the  translators,  but  hardly  an  exact 
equivalent  of  anything  likely  to  have  been  written  by  the 
Elohist.  ^ 

1*7.  God  healed  Abimelech,  &c.  :  we  have  not  been  told  of 
any  disease  of  the  king,  unless  it  is  implied  in  '  thou  shalt  live,'  j£| 
cf.  verse  7. 

they  bare  children.     The  disease  caused  sterility. 
18.  (R,  i.  e.  an  editorial  note.)    An  editor  noticed  the  omission 
just  mentioned  s,   and  supplied  the  obvious  explanation.     Note 

1  Exod.  xxi.  32. 

2  Lane,  1889,  iii.  630,  ch.  xxx,  the  Story  of  Maaroof. 

3  First  note  on  verse  17. 


230  GENESIS  21.  1-6.     JPJPE 

21       [J]  And  the  Lord  visited  Sarah  as  he  had  said,  [P]  and 

2  the  Lord  did  unto  Sarah  as  he  had  spoken.  [J]  And  Sarah 
conceived,  and  bare  Abraham  a  son  in  his  old  age,  [P]  at 

3  the  set  time  of  which  God  had  spoken  to  him.     And 
Abraham  called  the  name  of  his  son  that  was  born  unto 

4  him,  whom  Sarah  bare  to  him,  Isaac.     And  Abraham 
circumcised  his  son  Isaac  when  he  was  eight  days  old,  as 

5  God   had   commanded   him.      And   Abraham   was   an 
hundred  years  old,  when  his  son  Isaac  was  born  unto  him. 

6  [E]  And  Sarah  said,  God  hath  made  me  to  laugh ;  every 

the   use  of  Yahweh   instead   of  the  'God'  of  the  main   narra- 
tive. 

xxi.  1-7.  The  Birth  of  Isaac. 

1  a1,  2 a2,  7  (j.).  By  the  special  intervention  of  Yahweh  Sarah 
bears  a  son  to  Abraham  in  his  old  age  ;  she  speaks  of  the 
marvellousness  of  the  event. 

163,  2&4-5,  (P).  By  the  special  intervention  of  God5  Sarah 
bears  a  son  to  Abraham  when  he  is  one  hundred  years  old. 
Abraham  calls  his  name  Isaac,  and  circumcizes  him. 

6.   (E)     Sarah  plays  on  the  name  of  Isaac. 

1  a.  (J)  as  he  had  said.     See  xviii.  10,  J. 

1  b.  (P)  the  LORD  :  i.  e.  Yahweh.  If  this  clause  is  rightly 
derived  from  the  Priestly  Document,  '  God '  must  have  stood  here 
originally,  and  Yahweh  is  due  to  an  alteration  by  the  editor. 

2  b.  (P)     at  the  set  time.     See  xvii.  21,  P. 

3.  (P)  Abraham  called  the  name.  The  father  gives  the 
name,  a  characteristic  of  this  document,  cf.  xvi.  15,  P. 

Isaac.     See  xvii.  18,  P. 

4.  (P)  circumcised  ...  as  God  had  commanded  him.  See 
xvii.  10,  P. 

6.  (E)  This  is  a  fragment  of  the  Elohistic  account  of  the  birth 
of  Isaac,  the  rest  having  been  omitted  by  an  editor  to  avoid 
repetition.  It  is  apparently  part  of  a  statement  that  Sarah  named 
her  son  Isaac  (i.  e.  '  Laughter ')  because  God  hath  made  me  to 
laugh,  &c.  In  this  document  the  mother  usually  gives  the  name, 
cf.  xxx.  17  ff.,  E. 

laugh  .  .  .  laugh  :  because  it  was  so  surprising  that  a  child 
should  be  born  to  two  old  people.     This  document  also  must  have 

1  To  'said.'  ~  To  'old  age.'         3  From  'And  Yahweh  did.' 

4  From  '  at  the  set  time.'  '  See  note  on  this  verse. 


GENESIS  21.  7,8.     EJE  231 

one  that  heareth  will  laugh  with  me.     [J]  And  she  said,  7 
Who  would  have  said  unto  Abraham,  that  Sarah  should 
give  children  suck  ?  for  I  have  borne  him  a  son  in  his 
old  age. 

[E]  And  the  child  grew,  and  was  weaned  :  and  Abraham  8 
made  a  great  feast  on  the  day  that  Isaac  was  weaned. 

referred  to  the  age  of  Abraham  and  Sarah  in  some  passage  not 
included  in  our  Genesis. 

xxi.  8-21.  The  Dismissal  of  Hagar  and  her  Son  (E). 

8-10.  At  a  feast  made  on  the  occasion  of  the  weaning  of 
Isaac  Sarah  is  stricken  with  jealousy  of  Hagar  and  her  son,  and 
demands  her  dismissal. 

11-13.  Abraham  is  reluctant,  but  God  bids  him  hearken  to 
Sarah,  and  promises  that  Hagar's  son  shall  become  a  nation. 

14-16.  Hagar  and  her  son  are  sent  away  into  the  wilderness, 
and  wander  till  their  water  is  spent  and  the  child  is  on  the  point 
of  dying  of  thirst. 

17-19.     God  shows  Hagar  a  well,  and  renews  His  promise. 

20-21.  The  child  grows  up,  becomes  an  archer,  lives  in  the 
wilderness  of  Paran,  and  marries  an  Egyptian  wife. 

Source,  &c.  This  is  the  Elohistic  narrative  parallel  to  the 
account  in  the  Primitive  Document  in  xvi.  4-8,  11-14.  The 
differences  in  the  two  stories  enabled  the  editor  by  adding  xvi.  9, 
10  to  the  primitive  account  to  treat  this  section  as  a  sequel  to  xvi. 
Note  that  the  name  of  Hagar's  son  is  not  given  in  this  narrative. 
The  notes  on  verses  14-17  will  point  out  that  in  this  story 
Hagar's  son  is  quite  a  baby,  but  according  to  the  Priestly  writer  ..... 
Abraham  was  eighty-six  when  Ishmael  was  born,  and  one 
hundred  when  Isaac  was  born ',  so  that  at  this  time,  after  the 
weaning  of  Isaac  2,  Ishmael  must  ha^e  been  about  sixteen.  If 
we  had  to  take  Genesis  as  a  continuous  narrative  there  would 
be  a  contradiction,  but  all  difficulty  disappears  when  we  realize 
that  the  statements  as  to  the  age  of  the  patriarch  belong  to 
a  different  story. 

8.  was  weaned.  In  the  East  it  is  not  usual  to  wean  infants 
till  they  are  from  a  year  to  two  years  old 3,  or  even  older. 

a  great  feast.  The  weaning,  like  our  christening,  was  the 
occasion  of  a  social  gathering.  According  to  modern  travellers4 
this  is  still  the  case  in  the  East. 

1  Gen.  xvi.  16,  xxi.  5.  2  Verse  8,  see  note. 

3  Lane,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Modern  Egyptians,  1895 
ed.,  p.  69.  4  Dillmann. 


232  GENESIS  21.  9-14.     E 

9  And  Sarah  saw  the  son  of  Hagar  the  Egyptian,  which 

10  she  had  borne  unto  Abraham,  mocking.  Wherefore  she 
said  unto  Abraham,  Cast  out  this  bondwoman  and  her 
son  :  for  the  son  of  this  bondwoman  shall  not  be  heir 

11  with  my  son,  even  with  Isaac.     And  the  thing  was  very 

12  grievous  in  Abraham's  sight  on  account  of  his  son.  And 
God  said  unto  Abraham,  Let  it  not  be  grievous  in  thy 
sight  because  of  the  lad,  and  because  of  thy  bondwoman  • 
in  all  that  Sarah  saith  unto  thee,  hearken  unto  her  voice; 

13  for  in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called.  And  also  of  the 
son  of  the  bondwoman  will  I  make  a  nation,  because  he 

14  is  thy  seed.  And  Abraham  rose  up  early  in  the  morning, 
and  took  bread  and  a  bottle  of  water,  and  gave  it  unto 
Hagar,  putting  it  on  her  shoulder,  and  the  child,  and 


9.  mocking :  a  mistaken  translation,  it  should  be  simply 
4  sporting.'  Sarah's  jealousy  was  awakened  by  Hagar's  son 
behaving  as  if  he  was  on  the  same  footing  as  Isaac  ;  or  even, 
being  the  elder,  on  a  higher  footing.  So  the  mediaeval  Rabbini- 
cal commentator  Aben  Ezra  simply  says  that  Sarah  was  jealous 
because  Hagar's  son  was  the  elder.  The  translation  '  mocking' 
is  due  to  a  desire  to  find  an  excuse  for  Sarah,  and  perhaps  also 
to  the  influence  of  Jewish  traditions,  which  represent  Hagar's  son 
as  quarrelling  with  Isaac  about  the  birthright,  and  trying  to  shoot 
him. 

10.  bondwoman:  female  slave. 

lieir  with  my  son.  The  children  of  the  wife  would  as 
a  rule  have  an  advantage  over  those  of  a  concubine  ;  but  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  two  was  not  always  clearly  defined,  and  the 
child  of  a  concubine  might  share  in  the  inheritance,  or  even — if, 
like  Hagar's  son,  the  eldest — receive  the  chief  share  as  the  first- 
born. 

14.  bottle  :  i.  e.  as  R.  V.  marg.  '  skin.' 

gave  it  unto  Hagar,  putting  it  on  her  shoulder,  and  the 
child.  The  awkward  style  of  the  English  faithfully  reproduces  a 
piece  of  bad  Hebrew,  which  cannot  be  what  the  Elohist  originally 
wrote,  but  is  due  to  an  attempt  of  some  copyist  or  editor  to  do 
away  with  the  discrepancy  which  has  been  pointed  out  above  ' 
between  the  Elohistic  and  the  Priestly  Documents.     The  sense 

1  Page  231. 


GENESIS  21.  15-17.     E  233 

sent  her  away:  and  she  departed,  and  wandered  in  the 
wilderness  of  Beer-sheba.  And  the  water  in  the  bottle  15 
was  spent,  and  she  cast  the  child  under  one  of  the 
shrubs.  And  she  went,  and  sat  her  down  over  against  16 
him  a  good  way  off,  as  it  were  a  bowshot :  for  she  said, 
Let  me  not  look  upon  the  death  of  the  child.  And  she 
sat  over  against  him,  and  lift  up  her  voice,  and  wept. 
And  God  heard  the  voice  of  the  lad  ;  and  the  angel  of  1 7 

of  the  original  is  doubtless  given  by  the  Septuagint  :  '  he  took 
bread  and -a  skin  of  water,  and  gave  them  to  Hagar,  and  he  also 
placed  the  child  upon  her  shoulder '  ;  i.  e.  Hagar's  son  was  still 
a  mere  baby.  This  is  also  implied  in  verses  15-17.  The  word 
'  child  '  used  here  for  Ishmael  is  the  same  1  as  that  used  for  Isaac 
in  verse  8.  In  verse  17  the  word  is  changed,  as  the  E.  V.  '  lad2 ' 
indicates. 

Beer-sheba  :  the  modern  Bir-es-Seba  in  the  extreme  south  of 
Palestine,  on  the  border  between  the  arable  land  and  the  wilder- 
ness. The  phrase  from  '  Dan  to  Beer-sheba '  shows  that  the  latter 
was  regarded  as  the  southernmost  place  of  any  importance  in 
the  land.  Beer-sheba  is  one  of  the  towns  in  the  territory  of 
Judah  assigned  to  the  Simeonites  in  Joshua  xix.  2  ;  it  remained 
a  sanctuary  of  importance  to  late  times,  and  seems  to  have  been 
specially  connected  with  the  northern  kingdom 3.  The  name 
might  be  read  in  Hebrew  somewhat  loosely  as  'well  of  the  oath,' 
but  is  properly  'well  of  seven/  possibly  '  of  seven  gods,'  though 
it  would  be  natural  to  think  that  the  name  might  be  a  corruption 
of  one  denoting  'the  seven  wells.'  There  is  a  group  of  three  or 
more  wells  at  Bir-es-Seba.     Cf.  verses  22-24,  and  xxvi.  33. 

15.  she  cast  the  child  :  evidently  therefore  quite  young,  and 
not  a  lad  of  sixteen  ;  cf.  on  verse  14. 

16.  lift  up  her  voice,  and  wept.  Instead  of  this  we  should 
probably  read  with  the  Septuagint  :  '  and  the  child  lifted  up  its 
voice  and  wept,'  of  which  the  beginning  of  the  next  verse  is  the 
natural  sequel.  This  feature  of  the  narrative  again  suits  a  young 
child. 

1*7.  the  lad:  cf.  on  verse  14,  an  elastic  term,  sometimes  used 
like  our  '  boy'  for  a  servant  ;  used  in  xxxvii.  2,  E  of  Joseph  at  the 
age  of  seventeen,  but  also  in  Exod.  ii.  6  of  Moses  at  the  age  of 
three  months,  and  therefore  consistent  with  the  explanation 
given  to  child  in  verse  14,  &c. 

1  Heb.  Yeled.  2  Heb.  Na'ar,  see  note  on  17. 

3  Amos  v.  5,  viii.  14. 


234  GENESIS  21.  18-22.     E 

God  called  to  Hagar  out  of  heaven,  and  said  unto  her, 
What  aileth  thee,  Hagar  ?  fear  not ;  for  God  hath  heard 

18  the  voice  of  the  lad  where  he  is.     Arise,  lift  up  the  lad, 
and  hold  him  in  thine  hand ;  for  I  will  make  him  a  great 

19  nation.     And  God  opened  her  eyes,  and  she  saw  a  well 
of  water  •  and  she  went,  and  filled  the  bottle  with  water, 

20  and  gave  the  lad  drink.     And  God  was  with  the  lad,  and 
he  grew;  and  he  dwelt  in  the  wilderness,  and  became  an 

21  archer.     And  he  dwelt  in  the  wilderness  of  Paran  :  and 
his  mother  took  him  a  wife  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 

22  And  it  came  to  pass  at  that  time,  that  Abimelech  and 

the  angel  of  God :  practically  a  manifestation  of  God  in  His 
working ;  the  passage  uses  '  God  '  and  '  angel  of  God  '  indifferently. 
Cf.  on  'angel  of  Yahweh,'  xvi.  7.       • 

20.  became  an  archer.  R.  V.  marg.  '  became,  as  he  grew  up, 
an  archer.'     The  Ishmaelites  were  noted  archers. 

21.  wilderness  of  Paran  :  west  of  Edom. 

a  wife  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt :  i.  e.  from  her  own  country, 
verse  9  ;  cf.  note  on  xvi.  1. 

xxi.  22-34.     Abraham  and  Abimelech  (JE)  *. 

22-24.  (E).  Abraham  consents  to  make  a  covenant  with 
Abimelech. 

25,  26.  (J).  In  reply  to  a  complaint  of  Abraham  as  to  a  well 
seized  by  the  Philistines,  Abimelech  declares  his  ignorance  of 
the  matter. 

27.    (E).     They  make  a  covenant. 

28-30.  (J).  Abraham,  in  token  that  the  well  is  his,  gives  seven 
lambs  to  Abimelech. 

31.  (E).  The  well  is  called  Beer-sheba  ('well  of  oath '.),  because 
they  swore  to  observe  the  covenant. 

32-34-  (JE;.  The  covenant  is  made.  Abraham  plants  a  sacred 
tree  at  Beer-sheba  in  honour  of  Yahweh.  Abraham  continues  to 
sojourn  in  the  land  of  the  Philistines. 

Sources,  &c.  Two  narratives  are  interwoven  here,  each  of 
which  told,  in  the  first  place,  how  Abimelech  and  Abraham  made 
a  covenant ;  and,  in  the  second,  gave  an  etymology  of  Beer-sheba. 
The  Elohistic  Document  merely  tells  how  the  oath  necessary  to 
a  covenant  was  the  origin  of  the  name.  The  Primitive  Document, 
giving  a  more  accurate  etymology,  connects  the  name  with  seven 

1  See  p.  52. 


GENESIS  21.  23-29.     EJEJ  235 

Phicol  the  captain  of  his  host  spake  unto  Abraham,  say- 
ing, God  is  with  thee  in  all  that  thou  doest:  now  there-  23 
fore  swear  unto  me  here  by  God  that  thou  wilt  not  deal 
falsely  with  me,  nor  with  my  son,  nor  with  my  son's  son  : 
but  according  to  the  kindness  that  I  have  done  unto 
thee,  thou  shalt  do  unto  me,  and  to  the  land  wherein 
thou  hast  sojourned.     And  Abraham  said,  I  will  swear.     24 
[J]  And  Abraham  reproved  Abimelech  because  of  the  25 
well  of  water,  which  Abimelech's  servants  had  violently 
taken  away.     And  Abimelech  said,  I  know  not  who  hath  26 
done  this  thing :    neither  didst  thou  tell  me,  neither  yet 
heard  I  of  it,  but  to-day.     [E]  And  Abraham  took  sheep  27 
and  oxen,  and  gave  them  unto  Abimelech ;   and  they 
two  made  a  covenant.     [J]  And  Abraham  set  seven  ewe  2S 
lambs  of  the  flock  by  themselves.     And  Abimelech  said  29 

lambs  given  in  token  of  Abraham's  right.  Both  stories  assert 
the  claim  of  the  sanctuary  of  Beer-sheba  to  have  been  founded  by 
Abraham.  Probably  the  parallel  account  in  chapter  xxvi,  J, 
(which  see)  is  the  oldest  version  *. 

22.  (E).     Abimelech.     See  xx.  2. 

Phicol,  also  mentioned  xxvi.  26.  No  probable  explanation 
of  the  name  has  yet  been  suggested. 

captain  of  his  host :  commander-in-chiet  ;  perhaps  the 
most  important  official  of  a  royal  court  in  those  days,  e.  g.  Abner 
under  Saul,  1  Sam.  xiv.  50,  Joab  under  David,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  2. 

23.  (E).  nor  with  my  son,  nor  with  my  son's  son.  R.  V. 
marg.  '  my  offspring,  nor  with  my  posterity.'  Neither  of  these 
renderings  is  accurate  ;  the  Hebrew2  is  a  compound  expression 
consisting  of  two  synonyms  denoting  not  two  distinct  ideas,  but 
one  idea  emphasized  and  made  comprehensive,  like  our  j  neither 
kith  nor  kin '  ;  translate  '  nor  any  of  my  kindred.1 

kindness:  gifts  and  permission  to  remain  in  the  land,  xx.  14-16. 

27.    (E).     covenant.     See  on  vi.  18. 

23.  (J),  seven  ewe  lambs  :  evidently  preparing  the  way  for 
an  explanation  of  Beer-sheba  as  '  well  of  seven,'  see  on  verse  14  ; 
this  has  been  omitted  by  the  editor  in  favour  of  the  alternative 
derivation  given  in  verse  31. 

1  On  the  presence  in  the  Primitive  Document  (J)  of  older  and 
more  recent  material,  see  p.  22.  2  Nin  waneked,  cf.  p.  84. 


236  GENESIS  21.  30—22.  1.     JEJEE 

unto  Abraham,  What  mean  these  seven  ewe  lambs  which 

30  thou  hast  set  by  themselves  ?  And  he  said,  These  seven 
ewe  lambs  shalt  thou  take  of  my  hand,  that  it  may  be  a 

31  witness  unto  me,  that  I  have  digged  this  well.  [E]  Where- 
fore he  called  that  place  Beer-sheba  ;  because  there  they 

32  sware  both  of  them.  [JE]  So  they  made  a  covenant  at 
Beer-sheba  :  and  Abimelech  rose  up,  and  Phicol  the 
captain  of  his  host,  and  they  returned  into  the  land  of 

33  the  Philistines.  And  Abraham  planted  a  tamarisk  tree 
in  Beer-sheba,  and  called  there  on  the  name  of  the  Lord, 

34  the  Everlasting  God.  And  Abraham  sojourned  in  the 
land  of  the  Philistines  many  days. 

22      [E]  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  God  did 

31.    (E).      Beer-sheba  .    .  .  "because    .    .  .   they   sware :    cf. 

verses  14  and  25,  and  xxvi.  33. 

xxii.  1 -1 9.  The  offering  of  Isaac.  (E,  with  the  exception 
of  editorial  correction  in  11,  and  the  editorial  addition  of  14-18.) 

1  2.  To  prove  Abraham  God  bids  him  offer  Isaac  as  a  burnt- 
offering  on  a  certain  mountain. 

3-10.  Abraham  takes  Isaac  to  the  place,  builds  an  altar,  and 
binds  his  son  on  it  as  the  victim. 

11-13.  A  voice  from  heaven  bids  him  spare  his  son,  and 
declares  that  God  is  satisfied  with  his  willingness  to  obey. 
Abraham  offers  a  stray  ram  in  place  of  Isaac. 

[14-18.  (R).  Abraham  calls  the  place  '  Yahweh  will  provide.' 
The  voice  from  heaven  renews  the  promise  to  Abraham.] 

19.     Abraham  and  Isaac  return  to  Beer-sheba. 

Sources,  &c.  The  narrative  as  it  stands  sets  forth  the  willing- 
ness of  Abraham  to  make  the  most  painful  sacrifice  to  God  ;  and 
his  faith  that  the  Divine  mercy  will  somehow  manifest  itself  at 
the  last,  '  God  will  provide  himself  the  lamb  for  the  burnt 
offering.'  Even  as  it  is  written  in  Hebrews1,  '  By  faith  Abraham, 
being  tried,  offered  up  Isaac  :  yea,  he  that  had  gladly  received  the 
promises  was  offering  up  his  only  begotten  son ;  even  he  of 
whom  it  was  said,  In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called  :  accounting 
that  God  is  able  to  raise  up,  even  from  the  dead ;  from  whence 
he  did  also  in  a  parable  receive  him  back.' 

1  Chapter  xi.  17-19. 


GENESIS  22.  2.     E  237 

prove  Abraham,  and  said  unto  him,  Abraham ;  and  he 
said,  Here  am  I.     And  he  said,  Take  now  thy  son,  thine  2 
only  son,  whom  thou  lovest,  even  Isaac,  and  get  thee 
into  the  land  of  Moriah ;  and  offer  him  there  for  a  burnt 

But  in  the  original  form  of  the  story  the  trial,  triumph,  and 
reward  of  Abraham's  loyalty  were  only  secondary  features. 
They  were  intended  of  course  to  receive  careful  attention  from 
the  reader,  but  the  main  purpose  of  the  narrative  was  something 
different.  Abraham's  willingness  to  offer  his  child  as  a  sacrifice 
to  his  God  was  by  no  means  unique  ;  such  sacrifices  were  a 
familiar  form  of  religious  worship  amongst  the  neighbours  of 
Israel,  especially  in  extreme  distress  or  under  the  influence  of 
some  outburst  of  fanaticism.  Thus  when  the  king  of  Moab  was 
sore  pressed  by  Jehoshaphat  and  his  allies,  as  a  last  desperate 
resource  '  he  took  his  eldest  son  that  should  have  reigned  in  his 
stead,  and  offered  him  for  a  burnt  offering  upon  the  wall  V  Such 
sacrifices  were  not  unknown  in  Israel.  Jephthah  offered  up  his 
daughter2  ;  of  Ahaz,  king  of  Judah,  who  reigned  about  the  time 
when  the  Elohistic  Document  was  compiled,  or  somewhat  earlier, 
we  read  :  '  He  walked  in  the  way  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  yea, 
and  made  his  son  to  pass  through  the  fire,  according  to  the 
abominations  of  the  heathen  V  The  king,  of  course,  would  set 
the  fashion  in  such  matters.  Thus  when  the  Elohistic  Document 
was  published  the  most  striking  feature  in  the  story  was  the 
voice  from  heaven  which  forbade  Abraham  to  sacrifice  Isaac. 
It  was  an  authoritative  declaration  that  God  did  not  require  men 
to  slay  their  children  in  His  honour  ;  He  was  satisfied  with  the 
willingness  to  obey  Him  to  the  uttermost.  Hence  the  narrative, 
together  with  other  passages  to  the  same  effect,  sets  forth  one  of 
the  points  in  which  O.  T.  revelation  raised  the  religion  of  Israel 
above  the  level  of  the  cults  of  its  heathen  neighbours. 

The  interest  shown  in  the  etymology  of  Yahweh-jireh i  sug- 
gests that  the  story  was  connected  with  a  sanctuary  %  probably 
Yeruel  rather  than  Yahweh-jireh6.  We  may  suppose  that  this 
story  was  preserved  at  the  sanctuary  ;  that  in  ancient  times 
children  had  been  sacrificed  there  ;  and  that  the  tradition  explains 
why  rams  had  been  substituted  for  children.  We  do  not  know 
where  this  sanctuary  was7. 

2.  the  land  of  Moriah:  lit.  'the  land  of  the  Moriah.'  The 
Moriah  is  only  mentioned  elsewhere  once,  in  2  Chron.  iii.  1, 
'  Solomon  began  to  build  the  house  of  Yahweh  at  Jerusalem  in 

1  2  Kings  iii.  27.  2  Judges  xi.  39.  3  2  Kings  xvi.  3. 

4  Verses  9  and  14.  5  So  Gunkel. 

6  See  notes  on  verses  9  and  14.        7  See  note  on  Moriah,  verse  2. 


238  GENESIS  22.  3, 4.     E 

offering  upon  one  of  the  mountains  which  I  will  tell  thee 

3  of.  And  Abraham  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  saddled 
his  ass,  and  took  two  of  his  young  men  with  him,  and 
Isaac  his  son  ;  and  he  clave  the  wood  for  the  burnt  offer- 
ing, and  rose  up,  and  went  unto  the  place  of  which  God 

4  had  told  him.     On  the  third  day  Abraham  lifted  up  his 

* 

the  hill  of  the  Moriah,  where  Yahweh  appeared  unto  David.' 
Josephus  in  his  account  of  our  incident  also  identifies  the 
mountain  with  the  temple  hill,  and  this  seems  also  to  have  been 
the  view  held  by  the  editor  who  added  verse  14.  But  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  evidence  really  shows  that  the  temple  hill 
was  called  'the  Moriah,'  nor  would  it  suit  the  conditions  of  the 
narrative.  There  is  nothing  here  to  suggest  that  the  sacrifice 
was  offered  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  an  important  city, 
such  as  we  know  Jerusalem  to  have  been  at  this  time.  Moreover, 
it  is  quite  probable  that  'Moriah'  was  not  the  original  word  in 
either  place  ;  and  that  no  such  name  existed  in  ancient  Israel. 
Instead  of  'Moriah'  the  Septuagint  has  'lofty'  in  our  passage 
and  '  Amorite  '  in  Chronicles  ;  the  Vulgate  and  some  other  versions 
have  'vision'  here,  but  'Moriah'  in  Chronicles;  and  the  Syriac 
seems  to  have  read  '  Amorite  '  here.  The  rest  of  the  narrative 
suggests  that  some  word  was  read  which  could  mean  'vision1.' 
Some  scholars  would  read  'the  land  of  Moreh2';  others  'the 
land  of  the  Amorites.'  Note  too  that  here  it  is  not  '  the  hill  of  the 
Moriah,'  as  m  Chronicles,  but  '  one  of  the  mountains  in  the  land 
of  the  Moriah.'  Thus  we  are  quite  uncertain  as  to  the  position 
of  the  mountain  referred  to  in  the  original  narrative  ;  the  three 
days'  journey  implied  in  verse  4  (see  note)  is  a  little  indefinite  ; 
and  nothing,  apart  from  'the  land  of  the  Moriah,'  is  said  about 
the  direction  of  the  journey.  As,  however,  the  story  was  no 
doubt  connected  with  an  Israelite  sanctuary,  Abraham  and 
Isaac  seem  to  have  journeyed  northward  to  some  place  in  the 
territories  which  afterwards  belonged  to  the  northern  kingdom. 

The  derivation  of  the  name  '  Moriah '  is  uncertain,  but  both 
here  and  in  Chronicles  the  writers  seem  to  connect  either  Moriah 
or  some  word  which  it  has  replaced  with  the  Hebrew  verb  '  to 
see  Y  which  is  used  in  verse  8  in  the  sense  of  'provide.' 

3.  rose  early  in  the  morning-.     See  on  xix.  27. 
place.     See  on  xii.  6. 

4.  the  third  day.  As  they  started  at  dawn  on  the  first  day, 
and  were  clearly  already  on  their  third  day's  journey  when  they 

1  See  on  verses  8  and  14.  2  See  on  xii.  6. 

3  R'H,  cf.  on  verse  14. 


GENESIS  22.  5-8.     E  239 

eyes,  and  saw  the  place  afar  off.      And  Abraham  said  5 
unto  his  young  men,  Abide  ye  here  with  the  ass,  and 
I  and  the  lad  will  go  yonder ;  and  we  will  worship,  and 
come  again  to  you.     And  Abraham  took  the  wood  of  the  6 
burnt  offering,  and  laid  it  upon  Isaac  his  son;  and  he 
took  in  his  hand  the  fire  and  the  knife ;  and  they  went 
both  of  them  together.     And  Isaac  spake  unto  Abraham  7 
his  father,  and  said,  My  father  ■  and  he  said,  Here  am  I, 
my  son.     And  he  said,  Behold,  the  fire  and  the  wood  : 
but  where  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt  offering?     And  Abra-  8 
ham  said,  God  will  provide  himself  the  lamb  for  a  burnt 

saw  the  place  'afar  off,1  it  would  be  three  days'  journey  from 
Beer-sheba.  The  distance  traversed  in  three  days  would  vary  with 
circumstances  ;  it  has  been  reckoned 1  that  the  journey  from 
Beer-sheba  to  Jerusalem  would  take  seventeen  hours  or  rather 
more. 

afar  off.  As  Isaac  carried  the  wood  for  the  burnt-offering 
from  this  point  to  the  place  of  sacrifice,  the  latter  cannot  have 
been  very  far  off,  or  at  any  great  elevation. 

5.  we  will  .  .  .  come  again.  This  need  not  be  taken  as 
false,  Abraham   still  cherishes  some  faint  hope. 

6.  the  wood  of  the  burnt  offering-.  It  is  implied  that 
though  there  was  a  '  thicket,'  verse  13,  near  the  place  of  sacrifice 
no  suitable  wood  could  easily  be  obtained  there. 

the  fire.  We  are  nowhere  expressly  told  how  the  ancient 
Israelites  kindled  a  fire  ;  nor  is  it  said  here  whence  or  how 
Abraham  obtained  this  fire.  When  Judas  Maccabaeus  restored 
the  sacrificial  ritual  at  the  Temple,  we  read  that  fire  was  pro- 
cured by  'firing  stones  and  taking  fire  out  of  them2,'  possibly, 
as  R.  V.,  by  striking  stones  together.  At  any  rate  kindling  a  fire 
would  be  difficult  and  tedious,  hence  the  patriarch  takes  with 
him  glowing  embers.  It  was  sometimes  part  of  the  ritual  that 
an  altar  fire  should  be  kindled  in  some  definite  way — two  sons 
of  Aaron  were  slain  for  offering  'strange  fire3' — possibly  in 
bringing  '  fire  '  with  him  Abraham  was  observing  some  ceremonial 
custom. 

*7.  where  is  the  lamb.  The  accessories  of  the  sacrifice  had 
all  been  carefully  provided,  so  that  the  apparent  absence  of 
any  victim  was  all  the  more  striking. 

8.  God  will   provide   himself:    lit.   'see  for  himself,'  as  we 

1  See  Dillmann.  2  2  Mace  x.  3.  "  Lev.  x.  1. 


24o  GENESIS  22.  9-14.     ER 

offering,  my  son :  so  they  went  both  of  them  together. 

9  And  they  came  to  the  place  which  God  had  told  him  of; 

and  Abraham  built  the  altar  there,  and  laid  the  wood  in 

order,  and  bound  Isaac  his  son,  and  laid  him  on  the 

10  altar,  upon  the  wood.     And  Abraham  stretched  forth  his 

11  hand,  and  took  the  knife  to  slay  his  son.  And  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  called  unto  him  out  of  heaven,  and  said, 

12  Abraham,  Abraham  :  and  he  said,  Here  am  I.  And  he 
said,  Lay  not  thine  hand  upon  the  lad,  neither  do  thou 
any  thing  unto  him  :  for  now  I  know  that  thou  fearest 
God,  seeing  thou  hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only 

13  son,  from  me.  And  Abraham  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and 
looked,  and  behold,  behind  him  a  ram  caught  in  the 
thicket  by  his  horns  :  and  Abraham  went  and  took  the 
ram,  and  offered  him  up  for  a  burnt  offering  in  the  stead 

14  of  his  son.  [R]  And  Abraham  called  the  name  of  that 
place  Jehovah-jireh :    as  it  is  said  to  this  day,  In  the 

speak  of  '  seeing  to '  or  •  looking  after  '  anything  \  Here,  as  in 
verse  5,  we  may  discern  the  faith  of  the  patriarch  inspiring  him 
with  desperate  hope  even  in  his  extremity. 

9.  the  place  which  God  had  told  him  of.  No  name  is 
given,  because  the  place  received  its  name  from  this  event. 

11.  the  angel  of  the  LOSB  called  to  him  out  of  heaven. 
Cf.  xxi.  17.  The  Elohistic  writer  had  '  God'  ;  and  Lord  (Yahweh) 
is  due  to  the  editor  who  inserted  verses  14-18. 

13.  behind  him  a  ram.  Samaritan  Text,  Septuagint,  and 
many  other  versions  <  one  ram '  (instead  of  the  four  words). 

14.  (R).  Jehovah-jireh  :  lit.  'Yahweh  will  see.'  Verse  8  sug- 
gests the  interpretation* '  Yahweh  will  provide,'  a  meaning  which 
according  to  R.  V.  is  also  given  by  the  latter  part  of  this  verse, 
in  the  mount  of  the  IL021D  it  shall  be  provided.  R.  V.  marg., 
however,  renders  '  in  the  mount  of  the  Lord  it  shall  be  seen  ' ; 
a  slight  alteration  of  the  vowels  would  give  us  '  in  the  mount 
Yahweh  appears,' i.  e.  '  reveals  himself ';  or  another  similar  change 
would  give  •  in  the  mount  Yahweh  provides,'  which  would  suit 
verse  8  and  the  previous  part  of  this  verse.     There  are  two  other 

1  Cf.  on  verse  14. 


GENESIS  22.  15-19.     RE  241 

mount  of  the  Lord  it  shall  be  provided.     And  the  angel  15 
of  the  Lord  called  unto  Abraham  a  second  time  out  of 
heaven,   and  said,    By   myself  have   I  sworn,  saith  the  16 
Lord,  because  thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast  not 
withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son  :  that  in  blessing  I  will  17 
bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as 
the  stars  of  the  heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon 
the  sea  shore  ;  and  thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his 
enemies  ;   and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  18 
earth  be  blessed  ;  because  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice. 
[E]  So  Abraham  returned  unto  his  young  men,  and  they  19 

names  of  altars  compounded  with  Yahweh.  We  are  told  x  that, 
after  the  defeat  of  Amalek,  'Moses  built  an  altar,  and  called  the 
name  of  it  Yahweh-nissi,'  i.e.  • Yahweh  is  my  banner';  and 
that  Gideon2  built  an  altar  and  called  it  '  Yahweh-shalom,'  i.  e. 
'  Yahweh  is  peace.' 

The  editor  who  inserted  these  verses  no  doubt  intended 
Yahweh-yir  eh  3  to  be  the  equivalent  of  the  i  Moriah  '  of  verse  2, 
which  also  might  be  derived  from  R'H  (the  root  of  yireli)  and 
Yahweh4.  Thus  Ahaziah,  king  of  Judah,  is  also  called  Jehoahaz. 
If  the  rendering  '  the  mount  of  the  Lord  '  were  correct  it  would 
mean  in  Mosaic  times  Mount  Sinai;  but  this  could  hardly  be 
intended  here  ;  it  would  rather  be  the  temple  hill  as  in  2  Chron. 
iii.  1 ;  but  the  name  given  in  the  story  as  told  by  the  Elohistic 
writer  would  not  contain  Yahweh  ;  it  might  be  El-yir'eh,  or  more 
probably  Yeruel. 

16.  By  myself  have  I  sworn.     Cf.  Exod.  xxxii.  13. 

saith  the  LOSD.  This  is  a  peculiarly  emphatic  and  solemn 
formula5,  '  Oracle  of  Yahweh.'  commonly  used  in  the  prophets  to 
introduce  a  Divine  utterance.  In  the  Pentateuch  it  only  occurs 
once  elsewhere,  Num.  xiv.  28,  P. 

1*7.  in  blessing*,  &c.  :  the  sixth  blessing  of  Abraham,  cf.  xii. 
2,  J  ;  xiii.  14,  J  ;  xv,  J  and  E  ;  xvii,  P  ;  xviii.  18,  J. 

18.  he  "blessed:  R.V.  marg.  'bless  themselves,'  cf.'xii.  3. 


1  Exod.  xvii.  15,  E,  which  after  Exod.  iii  often  uses  the  Divine  name 
Yahweh. 

2  Judges  vi.  24,  J  ?. 

3  A  more  accurate  transliteration  than  jireh. 

4  Cf.  on  verse  14.  5  Ne'um  Yahweh. 


242  GENESIS  22.  20-23.     EJ 

rose  up  and  went  together  to  Beer-sheba ;  and  Abraham 
dwelt  at  Beer-sheba. 

20  [J]  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  it  was 
told  Abraham,  saying,  Behold,  Milcah,  she  also  hath  borne 

21  children  unto  thy  brother  Nahor;  Uz  his  firstborn,  and 

22  Buz  his  brother,  and  Kemuel  the  father  of  Aram ;  and 
Chesed,    and    Hazo,    and    Pildash,    and    Jidlaph,   and 

23  Bethuel.     And  Bethuel  begat  Rebekah  :  these  eight  did 

19.  Beer-sheba.     Cf.  xxi.  33. 

xxii.  20-24.  Abraham's  Kinsfolk  (J). 

Abraham  receives  news  as  to  the  family  of  his  brother  Nahor, 
showing  that  Rebekah  is  the  daughter  of  Bethuel,  the  son  of 
Nahor  and  Milcah. 

Sources,  &c.  The  genealogy,  as  usual,  represents  the  relations 
of  tribes  ;  but  individual  names  may  have  been  added. 

20.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  thing's.  Probably  this 
clause  was  added  by  an  editor  to  connect  this  paragraph  with 
what  precedes,  so  that  f  these  things '  refers  to  the  offering  of 
Isaac.  The  previous  section  of  J  (so  far  as  it  is  preserved  in 
Genesis)  is  the  birth  of  Isaac,  xxi.  1-7,  parts. 

Milcah  .   .  .  Nahor.     Cf.  xi.  29. 

21.  Uz.     In  x.  23,  P  (which  see),  Uz  is  a  son  of  Aram. 

Buz  :  mentioned  in  Jer.  xxv.  23  with  the  Arabian  districts  or 
tribes  Dedan  and  Thema.  In  Job  xxxii.  2,  Elihu  comes  from  Buz. 
Hence  Buz  belonged  to  Arabia  Petraea.  Esarhaddon's  inscrip- 
tions mention  Hazu  and  Bazu  in  North  Arabia  ;  cf.,  however,  Hazo- 
in  verse  22. 

Kemuel  the  father  of  Aram.  The  territory  of  Kemuel  and 
the  derivation  of  the  name  are  unknown.  Note  the  similarity  of 
form  to  Bethuel.     In  x.  22,  P,  Aram  is  the  son  of  Shem. 

22.  Chesed:  only  here,  but  the  name  would  naturally  be  the 
collective  term  for  the  Kasdim  or  Chaldaeans,  cf.  Arphaxad,  x.  22  ; 
Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  xi.  28.  It  has,  however,  been  suggested  that 
Chesed  here  does  not  stand  for  the  Chaldaeans  of  Babylonia,  but 
for  a  kindred  tribe  of  Northern  Syria. 

Hazo  .  .  .  Pildash  .  .  .  Jidlaph :  only  here,  cf.  on  verse 
21,  derivation  unknown  ;  individual  names  similar  to  Pildash  are 
cited  from  Aramaic  and  Arabic. 

Bethuel:  cf.  Kemuel  in  verse  21,  also  figures  in  the 
account  of  the  marriage  of  Isaac,  xxiv,  J  ;  xxv.  20,  P ;  and  of  the 
exile  of  Jacob,  xxviii.  2,  5,  P,  but  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere.    No 


GENESIS  22.  24— 23.  1.     J  P  243 

Milcah  bear  to  Nahor,   Abraham's  brother.     And   his  24 
concubine,   whose   name   was   Reumah,   she   also   bare 
Tebah,  and  Gaham,  and  Tahash,  and  Maacah. 

[P]  And  the  life  of  Sarah  was  an  hundred  and  seven  and  23 


mention  of  any  tribe  of  this  name  has  yet  been  found  ;  but 
a  Simeonite  town  Bethuel  is  referred  to  in  i  Chron.  iv.  30,  Bethul 
in  Joshua  xix.  4,  and  Beth-el  (i.e.  House  of  God)  in  1  Sam.  xxx.  27. 

23.  Rebekah  frequently  appears  in  Genesis  as  the  wife  of  Isaac 
and  mother  of  Jacob,  and  is  referred  to  in  Rom.  ix.  10,  not  else- 
where in  the  Bible.  No  reference  to  any  place  or  tribe  of  this 
name  is  cited.  According  to  Driver l,  Rebekah  is  an  Arabic  word 
meaning  a  •  loop  for  tying  kids  or  lambs.' 

these  eig-ht.  Add  the  four  mentioned  in  verse  24  and  we 
get  twelve  sons  of  Nahor,  cf.  the  hvelve  tribes  of  Israel,  and 
the  twelve  Apostles. 

24.  concubine  :  a  secondary  wife  of  inferior  status.  The  rela- 
tion between  a  man  and  his  concubine  was  quite  legitimate,  cf.  on 
xxi.  10. 

Reumah  .  .  .  Tebah  .  .  .  Gahanx  .  .  .  Tahash:  mentioned 
only  here  in  the  Bible,  and  not  identified  at  present  with  any 
known  places  or  tribes,  unless  we  read  Tebah  for  Betah,  a  Syrian 
town,  in  2  Sam.  viii.  8.  Reumah  may  be  connected  with  re'em, 
'wild-ox.'     Tahash  means  'porpoise.' 

Maacah :  a  district  near  Hermon,  often  mentioned  in  the 
O.  T. 

xxiii.     Death  and  Burial  of  Sarah  (P). 

1,  2.     Sarah  dies  at  Hebron,  at  the  age  of  127. 

3-18.  Abraham  buys  the  cave  and  field  of  Machpelah  near 
Hebron  for  a  buryingplace  for  400  shekels  from  Ephron  the 
Hittite. 

19.  He  buries  Sarah  there. 

20.  The  field  and  cave  remain  his  property. 

Sources,  &c.  This  chapter  comes  to  us  from  a  very  late 
authority,  the  post-exilic  Priestly  writer  ;  but,  no  doubt,  in  his 
time  the  Cave  of  Machpelah  was  a  holy  place,  and  the  traditional 
grave  of  the  patriarchs.  The  statements  of  Josephus  and  of 
travellers  from  his  time  to  the  present  day  indicate  that  a  building, 
now  used  as  or  represented  by  a  Mohammedan  mosque,  has 
been  shown  throughout  that  period  as  covering  the  cave-tomb  of 
the  patriarchs.     The  mosque  is  at  the  south-end  of  Hebron,  and 

1  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 
R  2 


244  GENESIS  23.  2-4.     P 

twenty  years  :  these  were  the  years  of  the  life  of  Sarah. 

2  And  Sarah  died  in  Kiriath-arba  (the  same  is  Hebron), 
in  the  land  of  Canaan  :  and  Abraham  came  to  mourn  for 

3  Sarah,  and  to  weep  for  her.      And  Abraham  rose  up 
from  before  his  dead,  and  spake  unto  the  children  of 

4  Heth,  saying,  I  am  a  stranger  and  a  sojourner  with  you  : 

covers  a  double  cave,  which  is  generally  identified  with  the 
Priestly  writer's  Cave  of  Machpelah.  The  cave  has  been  seen, 
but  not  thoroughly  examined,  by  distinguished  European  travel- 
lers, e.  g.  the  king,  when  Prince  of  Wales,  in  the  last  forty  years. 
The  fullest  mediaeval  account  of  it  is  that  of  the  Jewish  traveller, 
Benjamin  of  Tudela  (c.  1163),  who  tells  us  that  •  with  a  burning 
candle  in  his  hand  the  visitor  descends  into  the  first  cave  which  is 
empty,  traverses  a  second  in  the  same  state,  and  at  last  reaches 
a  third,  which  contains  six  sepulchres,  those  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  and  of  Sarah,  Rebekah,  and  Leah,  one  opposite  the 
other1.' 

It  is  impossible  to  say  how  much  older  the  tradition  of  Mach- 
pelah was  than  the  times  of  the  Priestly  writer,  or  what  may 
have  been  its  historical  basis.  In  early  times  Machpelah  must 
have  been  not  only  a  tomb  but  also  a  sanctuary  for  sacrifice  and 
worship.  It  may  have  been  so  old  that  Israelites  and  Canaanites 
quarrelled  as  to  who  should  possess  it,  just  as  to-day  the  nations 
of  Christendom  quarrel  as  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  If  so,  the 
statements  as  to  the  purchase  of  the  field  by  Abraham  would 
support  the  Israelite  claim 2.  The  interest  of  the  Priestly  writer 
would  rather  be  to  show  that  Machpelah  was  merely  a  tomb  and 
not  a  sanctuary 2  ;  and  probably  also  to  illustrate  the  legal 
formulae  for  the  purchase  of  land.  According  to  the  Priestly 
writer,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  were  also  buried  here 3. 
Machpelah  is  only  mentioned  in  the  Priestly  Document.  Sarah 
is  referred  to  in  the  N.  T.  ;  but  in  the  O.  T.  she  is  only  mentioned 
in  Genesis  and  in  Isa.  li.  2. 

2.  Xiriath-arba :  'City  of  Four,1  according  to  Judges  i.  10 
the  more  ancient  name  of  Hebron.  In  Joshua  xv.  13  Arba  is 
made  the  name  of  a  man. 

3.  children  of  Heth  :  Hittites,  see  on  xv.  20,  used  by  P  as 
a  general  term  for  the  Canaanites. 

4.  stranger  and  a  sojourner :  a  compound  phrase,  cf.  on  xxi. 
23,  characteristic  of  P. 


1  Sir  C.  Warren,  Machpelah,  in  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible,  which  see  for  the  whole  subject. 

2  So  Gunkel.  3  Gen.  xxv.  9,  xxxv.  29,  I.  13. 


GENESIS  23.  5-1 1.    P  245 

give  me  a  possession  of  a  buryingplace  with  you,  that 
I  may  bury  my  dead  out  of  my  sight.     And  the  children  5 
of  Heth  answered  Abraham,  saying  unto  him,  Hear  us,  6 
my  lord  :  thou  art  a  mighty  prince  among  us :  in  the 
choice  of  our  sepulchres  bury  thy  dead ;  none  of  us  shall 
withhold  from  thee  his  sepulchre,  but  that  thou  mayest 
bury  thy  dead.     And  Abraham  rose  up,  and  bowed  him-  7 
self  to  the  people  of  the  land,  even  to  the  children  of 
Heth.     And  he  communed  with  them,  saying,  If  it  be  8 
your  mind  that  I  should  bury  my  dead  out  of  my  sight, 
hear  me,  and  intreat  for  me  to  Ephron  the  son  of  Zohar, 
that  he  may  give  me  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  which  he  9 
hath,  which  is  in  the  end  of  his  field ;  for  the  full  price 
let  him  give  it  to  me  in  the  midst  of  you  for  a  possession 
of  a  buryingplace.     Now  Ephron  was  sitting  in  the  midst  10 
of  the   children    of  Heth :    and    Ephron    the    Hittite 
answered  Abraham  in  the  audience  of  the  children  of 
Heth,  even  of  all  that  went  in  at  the  gate  of  his  city, 
saying,  Nay,  my  lord,  hear  me  :  the  field  give  I  thee,  and  11 
the  cave  that  is  therein,  I  give  it  thee  ;  in  the  presence  of 

6.  a  mighty  prince :  lit.  a  prince  of  God. 

in   the   choice   of   our    sepulchres.      Abraham,    however, 

j  declines  to  bury  Sarah  in  a  Hittite  grave,  and  purchases  a  grave, 

'  verses  9  ft'.     Herein,  no  doubt,  he  is  set  forth  as  an  example  ;  the 

post-exilic  Jews  attached   great  importance  to  the  burial  of  the 

dead,  e.  g.  Tobit  i.  18. 

9.  Machpelah:  rather  'the  Machpelah,'  the  name  apparently 
means  'double,'  and  is  so  rendered  by  the  Septuagint ;  the  reference 
may  be  to  the  double  cave,  see  above  ;  and  the  district,  verses  17, 
19,  may  have  been  named  after  the  cave. 

9.  in  the  midst  of  .  .  .  10.  in  the  audience  of:  i.e.  the 
purchase  was  a  public  legal  transaction  before  the  notables  of  the 
city,  who  were  witnesses  to  it. 

10.  all  that  went  in  at  the  gate :  the  inhabitants  of  the  city. 

11.  the  field  give  I  thee  :  a  mere  piece  of  conventional  polite- 
ness, which,  with  the  elaborate  courtesy  of  the  whole  proceedings, 
is  still  part  of  the  ordinary  method  of  bargaining  in  the  East. 


246  GENESIS  23.  12-17.     P 

the  sons  of  my  people  give  I  it  thee  :  bury  thy  dead. 

12  And  Abraham  bowed  himself  down  before  the  people  of 

13  the  land.  And  he  spake  unto  Ephron  in  the  audience 
of  the  people  of  the  land,  saying,  But  if  thou  wilt,  I  pray 
thee,  hear  me  :  I  will  give  the  price  of  the  field  ;  take  it 

14  of  me,  and  I  will  bury  my  dead  there.     And  Ephron 

15  answered  Abraham,  saying  unto  him,  My  lord,  hearken 
unto  me :  a  piece  of  land  worth  four  hundred  shekels  of 
silver,  what  is  that  betwixt  me  and  thee  ?  bury  therefore 

16  thy  dead.  And  Abraham  hearkened  unto  Ephron ;  and 
Abraham  weighed  to  Ephron  the  silver,  which  he  had 
named  in  the  audience  of  the  children  of  Heth,  four 
hundred  shekels  of  silver,  current  money  with  the  mer- 

17  chant.  So  the  field  of  Ephron,  which  was  in  Machpelah, 
which  was  before  Mamre,  the  field,  and  the  cave  which 
was  therein,  and  all  the  trees  that  were  in  the  field,  that 

15.  four  hundred  shekels  of  silver :  a  very  substantial  sum, 
the  price  of  a  dozen  slaves,  perhaps  equivalent  in  purchasing 
power  to  from  .£1,000  to  ,£2,000  in  our  time,  cf.  on  xx.  16.  In 
the  code  of  the  Babylonian  king  Hammurabi,  c.  b.  c.  2300,  the 
supposed  contemporary  of  Abraham  l,  the  wages  of  a  working  man 
for  a  year  are  fixed  at  six  or  eight  shekels. 

16.  weighed:  i.e.  the  payment  was  reckoned  at  so  much 
weight  of  silver,  not  so  many  coins. 

current  money  with  the  merchant.  This  would  denote  to 
modern  ears  coins  which  were  accepted  as  '  legal  tender.'  If  this 
is  the  meaning  it  would  be  an  indication  of  the  date  of  the  docu- 
ment, as  coins  are  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  Asia  by 
Darius,  b.c.  522-485.  But  the  literal  rendering  is  '  silver  passing 
for  the  merchant,'  and  may  refer  to  the  quality  of  the  silver,  or 
the  kind  of  shekel,  e.  g.  the  ordinary  shekel  of  commerce  as 
distinguished  from  the  sacred  shekel2. 

1*7,  18  read  like  a  quotation  from  a  legal  document,  and  are 
perhaps  the  correct  legal  phrases  used  of  such  a  transaction.  In 
buying  land  in  Arabia  it  is  still  customary  for  the  seller  to  state 
that  he  sells  all  trees,  stones,  &c,  on  the  land 3. 

1  See  on  Gen.  xiv.  I.  2  So  Holzinger. 

3  Forder,  With  the  Arabs  in  Tent  and  Town,  pp.  219  f. 


GENESIS  23.  18— 24.  i.     PJ    '  247 

were  in  all  the  border  thereof  round  about,  were  made 
sure  unto  Abraham  for  a  possession  in  the  presence  of  18 
the  children  of  Heth,  before  all  that  went  in  at  the  gate 
of  his  city.     And  after  this,  Abraham  buried  Sarah  his  19 
wife  in  the  cave  of  the  field  of  Machpelah  before  Mamre 
(the  same  is  Hebron),  in  the  land  of  Canaan.     And  the  20 
field,  and  the  cave  that  is  therein,  were  made  sure  unto 
Abraham  for  a  possession  of  a  buryingplace  by  the  chil- 
dren of  Heth. 

[J]  And  Abraham  was  old,  and  well  stricken  in  age:  and  24 

xxiv.  Rebekah  is  brought  from  Haran  to  marry  Isaac  (J). 

1-9.  Abraham  bids  his  servant  fetch  a  wife  for  Isaac  from  his 
kinsfolk,  the  family  of  Nahor. 

10-21.  The  servant  journe37s  to  the  city  of  Nahor  ;  at  the  well 
where  he  halts  he  meets  Rebekah,  who  is  divinely  indicated  as 
the  future  wife  of  Isaac. 

22-33.  The  servant  is  hospitably  entertained  by  Laban, 
Rebekah's  brother. 

34-49.  The  servant  tells  the  story  of  his  mission,  and  of  his 
meeting  with  Rebekah,  and  asks  her  in  marriage  for  Isaac. 

50-53.  Laban  and  Bethuel,  Rebekah's  father,  consent ;  and 
the  servant  presents  gifts  to  them  and  to  Rebekah. 

54-61.  Rebekah's  mother  and  Laban  seek  to  delay  her  depar- 
ture, but,  at  her  own  wish,  she  sets  out  at  once  for  Canaan. 

62-67.  She  arrives  in  Canaan  and  meets  Isaac,  who  marries 
her. 

Sources,  &c.  The  bringing  of  Rebekah  to  Isaac  may  be  a  pic- 
turesque way  of  describing  the  incorporation  of  Aramaic  clans 
in  Israel  ;  but  the  narrative  is  much  more  than  this,  it  is  a  graphic 
story  of  the  fortunes  of  individuals.  The  various  features  repro- 
duce well-known  experiences  of  the  nomads  of  the  desert ;  the 
seeking  of  a  wife  from  some  distant  but  kindred  tribe  ;  the  trust 
reposed  in  a  favourite  slave  ;  the  meeting  of  travellers,  as  in  the 
case  of  Jacob  and  Moses,  with  the  women  at  the  well ;  and 
the  negotiations  that  led  up  to  a  betrothal.  In  a  few  graphic 
touches  these  familiar  scenes  of  ancient  days  are  lived  over  again 
before  our  eyes.  Throughout  there  is  manifest  a  simple  faith 
in  the  continual  presence  and  activity  of  a  benevolent  Divine 
Providence. 

The  reader  will  note  the  many  features  common  to  this  story 
and  that  of  Jacob  and  Rachel. 


248  •      GENESIS  24.  2-10.     J 

2  the  Lord  had  blessed  Abraham  in  all  things.  And  Abra- 
ham said  unto  his  servant,  the  elder  of  his  house,  that 
ruled  over  all  that  he  had,  Put,  I  pray  thee,  thy  hand  under 

3  my  thigh  :  and  I  will  make  thee  swear  by  the  Lord,  the 
God  of  heaven  and  the  God  of  the  earth,  that  thou  shalt 
not   take   a  wife  for  my  son  of  the  daughters  of  the 

4  Canaanites,  among  whom  I  dwell :  but  thou  shalt  go 
unto  my  country,  and  to  my  kindred,  and  take  a  wife  for 

5  my  son  Isaac.  And  the  servant  said  unto  him,  Perad- 
venture  the  woman  will  not  be  willing  to  follow  me  unto 
this  land  :  must  I  needs  bring  thy  son  again  unto  the 

6  land  from  whence  thou  earnest  ?  And  Abraham  said 
unto   him,   Beware   thou  that  thou  bring  not  my  son 

7  thither  again.  The  Lord,  the  God  of  heaven,  that  took 
me  from  my  father's  house,  and  from  the  land  of  my 
nativity,  and  that  spake  unto  me,  and  that  sware  unto  me, 
saying,  Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land ;  he  shall  send 
his  angel  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  take  a  wife  for  my 

8  son  from  thence.  And  if  the  woman  be  not  willing  to 
follow  thee,  then  thou  shalt  be  clear  from  this  my  oath ; 

9  only  thou  shalt  not  bring  my  son  thither  again.  And 
the  servant  put  his  hand  under  the  thigh  of  Abraham  his 

10  master,  and  sware  to  him  concerning  this  matter.     And 
the  servant  took  ten  camels,  of  the  camels  of  his  master, 


2.  his  servant :  corresponding  to  the  Eliezer  of  xv.  2,  E. 

thy  hand  under  my  thigh :  a  form  giving  greater  solemnity 
to  the  oath,  cf.  xlvii.  29,  J. 

3.  the  God  of  heaven  and  the  God  of  the  earth.  The  phrase 
shows  that  at  the  time  when  the  final  edition  *  of  this  document 
was  compiled  Yahweh  was  not  regarded  as  a  mere  tribal  deity. 

the  daughters  of  the  Canaanites.     Cf.  xxviii.  1,  P. 

4.  my  country  .  .  .  my  kindred:  Haran  .  .  .  the  famihy  of 
his  brother  Nahor. 

1  See  p.  23. 


GENESIS  24.  11-15.     J  249 

and  departed ;  having  all  goodly  things  of  his  master's  in 
his  hand  :  and  he  arose,  and  went  to  Mesopotamia,  unto 
the  city  of  Nahor.     And  he  made  the  camels  to  kneel  n 
down  without  the  city  by  the  well  of  water  at  the  time  of 
evening,  the   time  that  women  go  out  to  draw  water. 
And  he  said,  O  Lord,  the  God  of  my  master  Abraham,  12 
send  me,  I  pray  thee,  good  speed  this  day,  and  shew 
kindness  unto  my  master  Abraham.     Behold,  I  stand  by  13 
the  fountain  of  water ;  and  the  daughters  of  the  men  of 
the  city  come  out  to  draw  water :  and  let  it  come  to  pass,  14 
that  the   damsel  to  whom  I  shall  say,   Let  down  thy 
pitcher,  I  pray  thee,  that  I  may  drink ;  and  she  shall  say, 
Drink,  and  I  will  give  thy  camels  drink  also  :  let  the 
same  be  she  that  thou  hast  appointed  for  thy  servant 
Isaac ;  and  thereby  shall  I  know  that  thou  hast  shewed 
kindness  unto  my  master.     And  it  came  to  pass,  before  15 
he  had  done  speaking,  that,  behold,  Rebekah  came  out, 
who  was  born  to  Bethuel  the  son  of  Milcah,  the  wife  of 


10.  having-  all  goodly  tilings  of  his  master's  in  his  hand : 
i.  e.  taking  with  him  valuable  gifts  from  Abraham  for  the  pro- 
spective  bride  and  her  family,  cf.  verses  22  and  53. 

Mesopotamia :  i.e.  'the  district  between  the  rivers  (Euphrates 
and  Tigris),'  is  the  Greek  name  of  the  northern  portion  of  the 
district  between  these  two  rivers  ;  this  is  not  strictly  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  original  Hebrew  Aram-naharaim,  R.V.  marg. 
'  Aram '  [Syria]  '  of  the  two  rivers  '  ;  or  more  accurately  '  the 
river  district  of  Syria,'  i.  e.  the  Syrian  lands  on  both  banks  of 
the  Upper  Euphrates. 

city  of  Nahor  :  Haran,  see  xi.  31. 

11.  to  kneel  down:  the  usual  attitude  for  camels  when 
resting. 

13.  fountain :  rather  '  spring,'  from  which  the  water  could  be 
taken  to  a  drinking-trough,  see  verse  20. 

15.  Bethuel  the  son  of  Milcah,  the  wife  of  Nahor. 
Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  Bethuel  descended  from  the 
Chosen  Family  by  both  parents,  cf.  xi.  29. 

Bethuel.  See  xxii.  22.  From  the  absence  of  any  reference 
to  Bethuel  except  in  verse  50,  and  the  mention  of  the  mother, 


250  GENESIS  24.  16-27.     J 

Nahor,  Abraham's  brother,  with  her  pitcher  upon  her 

16  shoulder.  And  the  damsel  was  very  fair  to  look  upon, 
a  virgin,  neither  had  any  man  known  her  :  and  she  went 
down  to  the  fountain,  and  filled  her  pitcher,  and  came 

17  up.  And  the  servant  ran  to  meet  her,  and  said,  Give 
me  to  drink,  I  pray  thee,  a  little  water  of  thy  pitcher. 

18  And  she  said,  Drink,  my  lord :  and  she  hasted,  and  let 
down  her  pitcher  upon  her  hand,  and  gave  him  drink. 

19  And  when  she  had  done  giving  him  drink,  she  said,  I  will 
draw  for  thy  camels  also,  until  they  have  done,  drinking. 

20  And  she  hasted,  and  emptied  her  pitcher  into  the  trough, 
and  ran  again  unto  the  well  to  draw,  and  drew  for  all  his 

21  camels.  And  the  man  looked  stedfastly  on  her;  holding 
his  peace,  to  know  whether  the  Lord  had  made  his 

22  journey  prosperous  or  not.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  the 
camels  had  done  drinking,  that  the  man  took  a  golden 
ring  of  half  a  shekel  weight,  and  two  bracelets  for  her 

23  hands  of  ten  shekels  weight  of  gold ;  and  said,  Whose 
daughter  art  thou  ?  tell  me,  I  pray  thee.     Is  there  room 

24  in  thy  father's  house  for  us  to  lodge  in  ?  And  she  said 
unto  him,  I  am  the  daughter  of  Bethuel  the  son  of  Milcah, 

25  which  she  bare  unto  Nahor.  She  said  moreover  unto 
him,  We  have  both  straw  and  provender  enough,  and 

26  room  to  lodge  in.     And  the  man  bowed  his  head,  and 

27  worshipped  the  Lord.     And  he  said,  Blessed  be  the 


verses  28,  55,  and  the  brother  Laban  as  the  family  authorities, 
verse  59,  it  is  supposed  that  Bethuel  was  dead,  and  that  'her 
mother'  or  the  mother's  name  should  be  read  in  verse  50  instead 
of 'Bethuel.' 

18.   my  lord:  practically  equivalent  to  '  Sir.' 

20.  trough :    a    drinking-trough   for  cattle,    such    as   is    still 
found  in  Syria  and  Arabia  at  wells  and  springs. 

22.  ring  :  nose-ring. 

shekel.     See  xx.  16  :  see  verse  47. 


GENESIS  24.  28-31.     J  251 

Lord,  the  God  of  my  master  Abraham,  who  hath  not 
forsaken  his  mercy  and  his  truth  toward  my  master :  as 
for  me,  the  Lord  hath  led  me  in  the  way  to  the  house 
of  my  master's  brethren.     And  the  damsel  ran,  and  told  28 
her   mother's    house    according   to    these   words.     And  29 
Rebekah  had  a  brother,  and  his  name  was  Laban :  and 
Laban  ran  out  unto  the  man,  unto  the  fountain.    And  it  3° 
came  to  pass,  when  he  saw  the  ring,  and  the  bracelets 
upon  his  sister's  hands,  and  when  he  heard  the  words  of 
Rebekah  his  sister,  saying,  Thus  spake  the  man  unto  me; 
that  he  came  unto  the  man ;  and,  behold,  he  stood  by 
the  camels  at  the  fountain.     And  he  said,  Come  in,  thou  31 

27.  his  mercy  and  his  truth1:  rather,  as  a  literal  translation, 
'his  lovingkindness  and  his  faithfulness'  ;  or,  in  more  idiomatic 
English,  '  his  faithful  lovingkindness.'  The  pair  of  coupled  words 
form  a  compound  expression. 

the  house  of  my  master's  "brethren  :  implying  that  he 
had  not  known  that  the  place  he  had  reached  was  the  home 
of  Nahor  till  he  learnt  the  fact  from  Rebekah's  words. 

28.  her  mother's  house.     See  on  verse  15.     The  phrase  has 
also,  but  less  probably,  been  explained  of  the  harem,  or  women's    • 
appartments. 

according1  to  these  words  :  rather  '  what  had  happened  V 

29.  Laban  :  mentioned  here  for  the  first  time  ;  the  derivation 
and  original  reference  of  the  name  are  not  certainly  known. 
There  is  no  place  or  tribe  which  can  be  identified  with  Laban 
— the  '  Laban '  in  Deut.  i.  1  can  have  no  connexion  with  Haran. 
The  name  is  usually  connected  with  the  root  LBN,  'white,' and 
variously  explained.  Thus  Hebrew  has  a  word  lebenah,  'brick,' 
and  Laban  has  been  identified  with  an  Assyrian  god  of  brickwork  ; 
and,  again,  the  Hebrew  for  '  moon '  is  lebanah,  and  Haran  was 
a  seat  of  the.  worship  of  the  moon-god,  with  whom,  therefore, 
Laban  is  sometimes  identified.  There  is  no  trace  of  either  idea  in 
Genesis,  but  '  Laban  the  Syrian 3  '  and  his  dealings  with  Jacob  are 
typical  of  the  Syrians  and  their  relations  with  Israel. 

30.  when  he  saw  the  ring1 :  a  sarcastic  hint  at  the  avarice  of 
Laban  and  the  people  whom  he  represents. 

1  Hasdo  wa'amitto.  2  Kautzsch. 

3  Gen.  xxv.  20,  P. 


252  GENESIS  24.  32-38.     J 

blessed  of  the  Lord  ;  wherefore  standest  thou  without  ? 
for  I  have  prepared  the  house,  and  room  for  the  camels. 

32  And  the  man  came  into  the  house,  and  he  ungirded  the 
camels  ;  and  he  gave  straw  and  provender  for  the  camels, 
and  water  to  wash  his  feet  and  the  men's  feet  that  were 

33  with  him.  And  there  was  set  meat  before  him  to  eat : 
but  he  said,  I  will  not  eat,  until  I  have  told  mine  errand. 

34  And  he  said,  Speak  on.     And  he  said,  I  am  Abraham's 

35  servant.  And  the  Lord  hath  blessed  my  master  greatly; 
and  he  is  become  great :  and  he  hath  given  him  flocks 
and  herds,  and  silver  and  gold,  and  menservants  and 

36  maidservants,  and  camels  and  asses.  And  Sarah  my 
master's  wife  bare  a  son  to  my  master  when  she  was  old : 

37  and  unto  him  hath  he  given  all  that  he  hath.  And  my 
master  made  me  swear,  saying, Thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife 
for  my  son  of  the  daughters  of  the  Canaanites,  in  whose 

38  land  I  dwell :  but  thou  shalt  go  unto  my  father's  house, 


31.  blessed  of  the  LOBB.  The  family  of  Nahor,  Abraham's 
kinsfolk,  worship  Yahweh  ('the  Lord');  and  it  is  chiefly  on 
this  ground  that  Abraham  and  Isaac  seek  to  marry  their  sons 
to  women  of  this  house.  It  is  certainly  not  the  intention  of 
the  writer  to  suggest  that  the  Syrians  of  his  time  worshipped 
Yahweh. 

32.  he  ungirded  ...  he  gave  :  probably  '  Abraham's  servant 
ungirded,'  and  certainly  '  Laban  gave.' 

34.  I  am  Abraham's  servant.  Laban  has  not  asked  his 
visitor's  name,  and  now  for  the  first  time  learns  who  he  is. 
This  is  according  to  Arab  etiquette.  The  host  does  not  ask  his 
guest's  name,  at  any  rate  till  the  latter  has  eaten  of  his  food, 
lest  there  should  prove  to  be  a  blood-feud  between  them  or  their 
tribes.     After  the  guest  has  eaten  with  his  host  he  is  safe. 

36.  unto  him  hath  he  given  all  that  he  hath.  See  xxv. 
5,  J,  which  is  sometimes  supposed  to  have  stood  originally  after 
the  first  verse  of  this  chapter. 

3*7-48.  These  verses  are  mostly  a  recapitulation  in  the  first 
person  of  what  has  already  been  related  in  the  third  person  in 
the  earlier  part  of  the  chapter.  Often  the  words  used  are  the 
same,  allowing  for  the  change  of  persons. 


GENESIS  24.  39-49.     J  253 

and  to  my  kindred,  and  take  a  wife  for  my  son.     And  39 
I  said  unto  my  master,  Peradventure  the  woman  will  not 
follow  me.     And  he  said  unto  me,  The  Lord,  before  40 
whom  I  walk,  will  send  his  angel  with  thee,  and  prosper 
thy  way ;  and  thou  shalt  take  a  wife  for  my  son  of  my 
kindred,  and  of  my  father's  house :  then  shalt  thou  be  41 
clear  from  my  oath,  when  thou  comest  to  my  kindred ; 
and  if  they  give  her  not  to  thee,  thou  shalt  be  clear  from 
my  oath.     And  I  came  this  day  unto  the  fountain,  and  42 
said,  O  Lord,  the  God  of  my  master  Abraham,  if  now 
thou  do  prosper  my  way  which  I  go :  behold,  I  stand  by  43 
the  fountain  of  water ;  and  let  it  come  to  pass,  that  the 
maiden  which  cometh  forth  to  draw,  to  whom  I  shall  say, 
Give  me,  I  pray  thee,  a  little  water  of  thy  pitcher  to 
drink ;  and  she  shall  say  to  me,  Both  drink  thou,  and  44 
I  will  also  draw  for  thy  camels :    let  the  same  be  the 
woman  whom  the  Lord  hath  appointed  for  my  master's 
son.     And  before  I  had  done  speaking  in  mine  heart,  45 
behold,   Rebekah  came  forth  with  her  pitcher  on  her 
shoulder;  and  she  went  down  unto  the  fountain,  and 
drew :  and  I  said  unto  her,  Let  me  drink,  I  pray  thee. 
And  she  made  haste,  and  let  down  her  pitcher  from  her  46 
shoulder,  and  said,  Drink,  and  I  will  give  thy  camels 
drink  also :  so  I  drank,  and  she  made  the  camels  drink 
also.     And  I  asked  her,  and  said,  Whose  daughter  art  47 
thou  ?     And  she  said,  The  daughter  of  Bethuel,  Nahor's 
son,  whom  Milcah  bare  unto  him  :  and  I  put  the  ring 
upon  her  nose,  and  the  bracelets  upon  her  hands.     And  48 
I  bowed  my  head,  and  worshipped  the  Lord,  and  blessed 
the  Lord,  the  God  of  my  master  Abraham,  which  had 
led  me  in  the  right  way  to  take  my  master's  brother's 
daughter  for  his  son.    And  now  if  ye  will  deal  kindly  and  49 
truly  with  my  master,  tell  me :  and  if  not,  tell  me ;  that 


254  GENESIS  24.  50-55.     J 

50  I  may  turn  to  the  right  hand,  or  to  the  left.  Then  Laban 
and  Bethuel  answered  and  said,  The  thing  proceedeth 
from  the  Lord  :  we  cannot  speak  unto  thee  bad  or  good. 

51  Behold,  Rebekah  is  before  thee,  take  her,  and  go,  and  let 
her  be  thy  master's  son's  wife,  as  the  Lord  hath  spoken. 

52  And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  when  Abraham's  servant  heard 
their  words,  he  bowed  himself  down  to  the  earth  unto 

53  the  Lord.  And  the  servant  brought  forth  jewels  ot 
silver,  and  jewels  of  gold,  and  raiment,  and  gave  them 
to  Rebekah :  he  gave  also  to  her  brother  and  to  her 

54  mother  precious  things.  And  they  did  eat  and  drink,  he 
and  the  men  that  were  with  him,  and  tarried  all  night ; 
and  they  rose  up  in  the  morning,  and  he  said,  Send  me 

55  away  unto  my  master.  And  her  brother  and  her  .mother 
said,  Let  the  damsel  abide  with  us  a  few  days,  at  the 

49.  turn  to  the  right  hand,  or  to  the  left  :  i.  e.  '  know  what 
to  do.' 
,   50.  Bethuel.     See  verse  15. 

The  thing  proceedeth  from  the  LORD  :  because  of  the  sign 
that  had  been  given  to  Abraham's  servant,  verses  12-19,  42-46. 
speak  unto  thee  bad  or  good.     '  Say  yes  or  no.' 

51.  take  her,  and  go.  Rebekah's  consent  is  taken  for  granted  ; 
the  marriage,  as  in  the  East  to-day,  is  negotiated  between  the 
friends  of  the  betrothed  couple. 

53.  mother.     See  verse  15. 

precious  things.  The  price  of  the  bride  paid  to  her 
family ;  cf.  Exod.  xxii.  16,  '  he  shall  pay  a  price x  for  her  to  be 
his  wife.' 

55.  a  few  days,  at  the  least  ten :  rather,  to  use  a  colloquial 
phrase,  '  ten  days  or  so.'  The  Samaritan  text  has  '  a  (few)  days 
or  a  month ' ;  the  Syriac  '  a  month  '  ;  the  Septuagint  '  about  ten 
days.'  It  was  certainly  startling  that  Rebekah's  family  should  be 
asked  to  let  her  leave  them  at  once,  that  very  morning,  for  a  distant 
land  with  a  man  whom  none  of  them  had  ever  seen  till  the 
previous  evening,  to  marry  a  cousin  whom  they  had  never  seen  ; 

1  The  Hebrew  word  is  mohar,  a  technical  term  for  the  price 
a  bridegroom  pays  for  his  bride  to  her  family.  Naturally  there  is 
no  English  equivalent  of  this  word  ;  the  A.  V.  '  endow  her  '  and  the 
R.  V.  '  pay  a  dowry  for  her 'are  alike  misleading. 


GENESIS  24.  56-63.     J  255 

least  ten ;  after  that  she  shall  go.     And  he  said  unto  56 
them,  Hinder  me  not,  seeing  the  Lord  hath  prospered 
my  way;   send  me  away  that  I  may  go  to  my  master. 
And  they  said,  We  will  call  the  damsel,  and  inquire  at  57 
her  mouth.    And  they  called  Rebekah,  and  said  unto  her,  58 
Wilt  thou  go  with  this  man  ?     And  she  said,  I  will  go. 
And  they  sent  away  Rebekah  their  sister,  and  her  nurse,  59 
and  Abraham's  servant,  and  his  men.     And  they  blessed  60 
Rebekah,  and  said  unto  her,  Our  sister,  be  thou  the  mother 
of  thousands  of  ten  thousands,  and  let  thy  seed  possess 
the  gate  of  those  which  hate  them.    And  Rebekah  arose,  61 
and  her  damsels,  and  they  rode  upon  the  camels,  and 
followed  the  man :  and  the  servant  took  Rebekah,  and 
went  his  way.     And  Isaac  came  from  the  way  of  Beer-  62 
lahai-roi ;  for  he  dwelt  in  the  land  of  the  South.     And  63 
Isaac  went  out  to  meditate  in  the  field  at  the  eventide : 

especially  as  it  was   not  very  likely  that   they  would  ever  see 
her  again  ;  and,  as  it  turned  out,  they  never  did  see  her. 

56.  Hinder  me  not.  It  is  probably  implied,  cf.  verse  1,  that 
Abraham  was  failing  when  the  servant  left  him,  and  that  the 
servant  was  anxious  to  bring  the  bride  back  while  his  master 
was  still  living. 

58.  I  will  go.  In  this  ready  consent  we  may  see  the  hand 
of  Yahweh. 

59.  their  sister.  Again,  cf.  verse  15,  no  reference  to  the 
father,  the  brother  is  treated  as  the  head  of  the  family ;  '  their ' 
is  used  because  the  author  refers  to  the  joint  action  of  Laban 
and  the  mother;  he  uses  the  loose  phrase  l  their  sister  '  to  avoid 
the  cumbrous  expression  l  his  sister  and  her  daughter ' ;  the 
term  'sister'  shows  that  the  relationship  to  Laban  was  more 
important  than  that  to  the  mother. 

her  nurse.     In  xxxv.  8,  E,  her  name  is  given  as  Deborah. 

60.  possess  the  gate.     See  xxii.  17. 

61.  the  camels.     See  verse  10. 

62.  from  the  way  of  Beer-lahai-roi :  Septuagint,  'through 
the  wilderness  to  B.'  For  Beer-lahai-roi,  see  xvi.  14.  Cf.  on 
the  next  verse. 

63.  Isaac  went  out  to  meditate.  We  should  have  expected 
to  hear  of  the  servant's  return  to  Abraham  to  report  the  success  of 


256  GENESIS  24.  64-66.     J 

and  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw,  and,  behold,  there 

64  were  camels  coming.     And  Rebekah  lifted  up  her  eyes, 

65  and  when  she  saw  Isaac,  she  lighted  off  the  camel.  And 
she  said  unto  the  servant,  What  man  is  this  that  walketh 
in  the  field  to  meet  us  ?  And  the  servant  said,  It  is  my 
master:    and  she  took  her  veil,   and  covered   herself. 

66  And  the  servant  told  Isaac  all  the  things  that  he  had 

his  mission.  The  absence  of  any  such  statement  suggests  that 
the  Primitive  Document  contained  an  account  of  the  death  of 
Abraham  between  verses  61  and  62,  and  that  this  was  omitted 
by  the  editor  to  make  room  for  the  Priestly  narrative  of  the 
patriarch's  end  in  xxv.  7  ff.  Hence  we  may  conclude  that  in 
this  story,  as  originally  told,  Abraham  died  while  his  servant  was 
away,  so  that  naturally  Rebekah  was  brought  to  Isaac.  This 
view  would  lead  us  to  accept  the  Septuagint  of  the  previous  verse 
(which  see\  and  to  understand  that  Isaac  removed  to  Beer-lahai- 
roi  in  consequence  of  his  father's  death.     Cf.  verse  65. 

meditate l.  The  rendering  is  uncertain  ;  '  meditate  '  does  not 
make  good  sense ;  '  pray  '  is  hardly  better  ;  •  mourn '  might  be 
suitable  if  we  could  make  it  refer  to  an  omitted  account  of  his 
father's  death.     The  Syriac  version  has  ;  walk  V 

field  :  open  country. 

eventide  :  cool  of  the  day. 

64.  lighted  off  the  camel.  The  next  verse  shows  that 
Rebekah  did  not  know  that  the  stranger  was  Isaac ;  but  his  dress 
and  appearance  would  show  that  he  was  a  person  of  importance — 
a  sheikh — and  she  may  have  supposed  that  it  was  her  future 
husband.  Hence  she  alighted  that  she  might  veil  herself  and  show 
him  all  due  respect. 

65.  my  master :  implying  that  Abraham  was  dead,  cf.  on 
verse  63. 

covered  herself:  after  the  usual  Eastern  etiquette.  Isaac,  of 
course,  not  being  yet  her  husband,  was  on  the  same  footing  as 
other  men.  Thus  Lane  :i  :  '  The  bridegroom  can  scarcely  ever 
obtain  even  a  surreptitious  glance  at  the  features  of  his  bride  until 
he  finds  her  in  his  absolute  possession,  unless  she  belong  to  the 
lower  classes  of  society,  in  which  case  it  is  easy  enough  for  him 
to  see  her  face.' 

1  Snah. 

2  Apparently  reading  shut. 

3  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Modern  Egyptians,  1895  ed., 
p.  172. 


GENESIS  24.  67—25.  2.     J  257 

done.     And  Isaac  brought  her  into  his  mother  Sarah's  67 
tent,  and  took  Rebekah,  and  she  became  his  wife ;  and 
he  loved  her  :  and  Isaac  was  comforted  after  his  mother's 
death. 

And  Abraham  took  another  wife,  and  her  name  was  25 
Keturah.     And  she  bare  him  Zimran,  and  Jokshan,  and  2 

67.  his  mother  Sarah's  tent.  The  bad  grammar  of  the  He- 
brew as  it  now  stands  shows  that  the  words  '  his  mother  Sarah  ' 
are  an  editorial  addition  ;  we  should  read  'into  the  tent.'  At  the 
same  time  the  addition  is  quite  in  accordance  with  Eastern  custom, 
a  sheikh's  wife  may  have  a  tent  or  tents  for  herself  and  her 
women  and  children,  as  in  the  case  of  Rachel  and  Lean  * ;  and 
though  Sarah  had  been  dead  some  time  her  tent  would  still 
remain,  and  might  be  spoken  of  as  hers. 

he  loved  her  :  a  fact  which  could  not  be  taken  for  granted 
under  the  circumstances. 

his  mother's  death.  We  should  probably  read  his  father's 
death  ;  Sarah  seems  to  have  died  some  time  before  ;  and  the  word 
\ mother's  '  here  will  be  an  alteration  by  the  editor  who  omitted 
the  Primitive  account  of  the  death  of  Abraham,  and  placed  that 
event  somewhat  later,  cf.  on  verse  63. 

xxv.  1-4.     Abraham's  Children  by  Keturah. 

(A  late  addition  to,  or  misplaced  section  of,  the  Primitive  Docu- 
ment.) 

Abraham  takes  a  second  wife,  Keturah,  and  by  her  becomes 
the  ancestor  of  numerous  Arab  tribes. 

Sources,  &c.  In  considering  xxiv.  63  we  have  seen  that  pro- 
bably the  Primitive  Document  narrated  the  death  of  Abraham  in 
connexion  with  the  marriage  of  Isaac.  Hence  these  verses  will 
either  be  a  later  addition,  or  else  they  have  been  inserted  in  the 
wrong  place  by  an  editor.  They  indicate  the  kinship  between 
Israel  and  certain  Arab  tribes. 

1.  Keturah:  'bound'  or  'incense,'  only  mentioned  here  and 
in  1  Chron.  i.  32  f.,  borrowed  from  this  passage.  In  Chronicles 
Keturah  is  called  a  concubine  because  the  chronicler  is  anxious 
that  Sarah,  the  mother  of  Isaac  the  ancestor  of  Israel,  should  be 
regarded  as  the  only  legitimate  wife  of  Abraham.  An  Arab  tribe, 
Katura,  residing  near  Mecca,  is  mentioned  by  Arab  writers. 

2.  Zimran  :  only  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  32,  unless  the  same  as 
the  Zimri,  mentioned  Jer.  xxv.  25  in  connexion  with  Arabia. 
The  name  is  derived  from  zemer, '  a  chamois,'  perhaps  the  totem 
of  the  tribe 2. 

1  Gen.  xxxi.  33. 

a  Cf.  Jacobs,  Studies  in  Biblical  Archaeology,  p.  96. 


I 


258  GENESIS  25.  3,  4-     J 

3  Medan,  and  Midian,  and   Ishbak,  and   Shuah.      And 
Jokshan  begat  Sheba,  and  Dedan.     And  the   sons   of    ■ 
Dedan  were  Asshurim,  and  Letushim,  and  Leummim.   ) 

4  And   the   sons   of  Midian ;    Ephah,    and    Epher,    and 
Hanoch,  and  Abida,  and  Eldaah.     All  these  were  the 

Jokshan :  only  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  32 ;  derivation  of  name 
and  habitat  of  tribe  unknown,  but  latter  doubtless  in  Arabia. 

Medan :  only  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  32 ;  probably  not  a  real 
name,  but  due  to  the  accidental  repetition  of  Midian  in  copying. 
In  xxxvii.  36  '  Medanites !  is  written  for  the  '  Midianites '  of 
xxxvii.  28. 

Midian:  a  nomad  tribe  frequently  mentioned  in  the  O.  T., 
and  found  sometimes  east  and  sometimes  south  of  Palestine. 

Ishbak :  only  here  and  i  Chron.  i.  32  ;  derivation  of  name 
uncertain,  sometimes  identified  with  a  tribe  of  North  Syria, 
Yasbuk,  mentioned  in  Assyrian  inscriptions. 

Shuah :  only  here,  i  Chron.  i.  32,  and  Job  ii.  n,  &c,  where 
Bildad  the  Shuhite  is  no  doubt  intended  to  belong  to  this  tribe ; 
derivation  of  name  uncertain,  sometimes  identified  with  a  tribe 
west  of  Euphrates  near  Carchemish,  Suahu,  mentioned  in 
Assyrian  inscriptions. 

3.  Sheba,  and  Dedan.     See  x.  7. 

the  sons  of  Dedan.  There  is  no  parallel  to  this  clause  in 
Chronicles;  the  form  of  the  names — plurals  '  Asshurites.'  &c. — is 
different  from  that  of  the  others,  so  that  the  clause  may  have  been 
added  to  Genesis  after  Chronicles  was  written,  c.  b.  c.  300. 

Asshurim:  i.e.  Asshurites,  see  on  x.  11,  but  cf.  also  verse 
18. 

Letushim,  and  Leummim :  i.  e.  '  Letushites  and  Leum- 
mites,'  only  here,  derivation  of  names  and  habitat  of  tribes  un- 
known. Somewhat  similar  names  are  cited  from  Arabian 
inscriptions.  Leummim  is  usually  a  common  noun  '  peoples.' 
The  names  have  been  taken  to  denote  trades.  The  Septuagint 
adds  two  other  '  sons  of  Dedan,1  Raguel  and  Nabdeel. 

4.  Ephah  :  only  here,  1  Chron.  i.  33,  and  Isa.  lx.  6,  '  the 
dromedaries  of  Midian  and  Ephah1  ;  derivation  of  name  uncertain, 
sometimes  identified  with  an  Arab  tribe  '■Ayappa,  mentioned  in 
the  Assyrian  inscriptions. 

Epher :  only  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  33  ;  derivation  and  habitat 
uncertain;  possibly  not  a  real  name  but  due  to  an  accidental 
repetition  of  Ephah  in  copying ;  cf.  on  Medan  in  verse  2. 

Eanoch.  The  Hebrew  name  is  the  same  as  that  rendered 
Enoch  in  iv.  17  (which  see)  and  elsewhere.  This  tribe  is  only 
mentioned  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  33,  and  its  habitat  is  unknown. 


GENESIS  25.  5-11.     JP  259 

children  of  Keturah.     And  Abraham  gave  all  that  he  5 
had  unto  Isaac.     But  unto  the  sons  of  the  concubines,  6 
which  x\braham  had,  Abraham  gave  gifts ;  and  he  sent 
them  away  from  Isaac  his  son,  while  he  yet  lived,  east- 
ward, unto  the  east  country.     [P]  And  these   are   the  7 
days  of  the  years  of  Abraham's  life  which  he  lived,  an 
hundred  threescore  and  fifteen   years.     And  Abraham  8 
gave  up  the  ghost,  and  died  in  a  good  old  age,  an  old 
man,  and  full  of  years ;  and  was  gathered  to  his  people. 
And  Isaac  and  Ishmael  his  sons  buried  him  in  the  cave  9 
of  Machpelah,  in  the  field  of  Ephron  the  son  of  Zohar 
the  Hittite,  which  is   before  Mamre ;  the  field  which  10 
Abraham  purchased  of  the  children  of  Heth  :  there  was 
Abraham  buried,  and  Sarah  his  wife.     And  it  came  to  11 

Abida,  and  Eldaah :    only  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  33  ;  deriva- 
tion and  habitat  uncertain. 

xxv.  5-1 1.  Death  and  Burial  of  Abraham. 

(Chiefly  the  Priestly  Document,  cf.  analysis  below.) 

5,  6.  (J)  Abraham  gives  Isaac  his  property,  after  having  sent 
away  the  sons  of  the  concubines  with  gifts. 

7-1 1  a1.  (P)  Abraham  dies  and  is  buried  by  Isaac  and  Ishmael 
in  the  cave  of  Machpelah. 

11  b2.  (J)  Isaac  settles  at  Beer-lahai-roi. 

5.  See  on  xxiv.  36,  63. 

6.  This  verse  is  often  regarded  as  an  explanatory  note  added 
by  an  editor.  If  it  belongs  to  the  original  story  it  may  have 
been  given  (see  references  on  verse  5)  at  an  earlier  point. 

concubines.     See  on  xxii.  24,  the  reference  probably  is  to 
Hagar  and  Keturah,  which  is  not  quite  consistent  with  verse  1. 

8.  was  gathered  to  his  people:  i.e.  buried  in  the  family 
grave  at  Machpelah,  though  the  family  at  present  was  only 
represented  there  by  Sarah.  Such  a  use  would  imply  a  com- 
plete severance  from  his  ancestor,  and  the  constitution  of  Abraham 
into  a  new  people.  The  phrase,  however,  may  be  used  in  a  mere 
conventional  sense  for  '  died ' ;  it  is  often  supposed  to  refer  to 
the  gathering  of  kinsfolk  in  one  place  in  Sheol,  the  Hebrew 
Hades  or  home  of  the  dead. 

9.  Machpelah.     See  on  xxiii.  19. 

1  As  far  as  '  his  son.'  2  From  '  and  Isaac' 

S  2 


260  GENESIS  25.  12-15.     PJP 

pass  after  the  death  of  Abraham,  that  God  blessed  Isaac 
his  son ;  [J]  and  Isaac  dwelt  by  Beer-lahai-roi. 

12  [P]  Now  these  are  the  generations  of  IshmaeV,  Abra 
ham's  son,  whom  Hagar  the  Egyptian,  Sarah's  handmaid, 

13  bare  unto  Abraham:  and  these  are  the  names  of  the 
sons  of  Ishmael,  by  their  names,  according  to  their 
generations  :    the  firstborn  of  Ishmael,  Nebaioth  ;   and 

14  Kedar,  and  Adbeel,  and    Mibsam,  and   Mishma,    and 

15  Dumah,  and  Massa;  Hadad,  and  Tenia,  Jetur,  Naphish, 

11.  blessed  Isaac:  i.e.  the  special  blessing  of  the  chosen 
family  was  transmitted  through  Isaac  and  not  through  Ishmael. 

xxv.  12-17.     The  Descendants  of  Ishmael  (P). 
Ishmael's  family,  his  death  and  burial. 

12.  generations.     See  ii.  4. 

13-16  a.  This  list  of  Ishmael's  sons  also  occurs  in  1  Chron. 
i.  29  ff.  The  following  names  are  only  found  in  these  two 
passages,  and  in  the  case  of  those  marked  with  an  asterisk,  the 
derivation  of  the  name  and  the  habitat  of>the  tribe  are  unknown, 
except  that  all  are  no  doubt  Arab  tribes.  *Adbeel,  *Massa, 
Kedemah  (eastern). 

13.  Nebaioth.  Only  elsewhere  xxviii.  9,  xxxvi.  3  ;  1  Chron. 
i.  29  ;  Isa.  lx.  7  ;  an  important  people  of  Northern  Arabia,  known 
in  later  times  as  Nabataeans. 

Kedar.  An  important  Arab  tribe  often  mentioned  in  the 
O.  T.  and  in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions.  Its  exact  habitat  is 
unknown. 

Adbeel.  Perhaps  the  Arabian  tribe  Idibi'il  mentioned  in 
an  Assyrian  inscription  with  Tema,  Sheba,  and  Ephah. 

Mibsam  = '  sweet  odour,'  and 

14.  Mishma:  also  clans  of  Simeon  in  1  Chron.  iv.  25  ;  apparently 
these  two  clans  were  sometimes  reckoned  to  Simeon,  and  some- 
times to  the  Bedouin  south  of  Palestine.  If  so  they  must  have 
belonged  to  that  district. 

Dumah  = «  silence '  (?)  It  is  doubtful  whether  this  Dumah  is 
the  same  as  that  of  Isa.  xxi.  11,  or  as  that  of  Joshua  xv.  52. 
Some  manuscripts  of  the  Septuagint  have  Idouma  both  here  and 
in  Chronicles.  Dumah  may  be  a  corruption  of  Edom,  the  Dumah  of 
Isaiah  is  connected  with  Seir  (another  name  for  the  territory  of 
Edom\ 

15.  Hadad :  the  name  of  the  supreme  god  of  Syria,  also  of 
various  Edomite    kings    or    princes,   xxxvi.  35,  39  R.  V.   marg., 


GENESIS  25.  16-18.     P  J  P  261 

and  Kedemah  :  these  are  the  sons  of  Ishmael,  and  these  16 
are  their  names,  by  their  villages,  and  by  their  encamp- 
ments ;  twelve  princes  according  to  their  nations.     And  1 7 
these  are  the  years  of  the  life  of  Ishmael,  an  hundred 
and  thirty  and  seven  years  :  and  he  gave  up  the  ghost 
and  died  5  and  was  gathered  unto  his  people.       [J]  And  18 
they  dwelt  from  Havilah  unto  Shur  that  is  before  Egypt, 
as  thou  goest  toward  Assyria  :  he  abode  in  the  presence 
of  all  his  brethren. 

1  Kings  xi.  14.  Here,  so  A.  V.  and  elsewhere,  Hadav  is  read 
by  some  authorities  instead  of  Hadad,  l  r '  and  '  d  '  being  almost 
identical  in  the  'square  Hebrew'  of  the  MSS.  and  printed 
editions. 

Tema  =  'southern,'  mentioned  in  Isa.  xxi.  13  f.,  Jer.  xxv. 
23  in  connexion  with  Dedan,  and  in  Job  vi.  19  in  connexion 
with  Sheba  ;  perhaps  the  modern  Teima  in  Northern  Arabia. 

Jetur,  Naphish :  mentioned  with  Nodab  in  1  Chron. 
v.  19  as  Hagrite  tribes,  whose  territory,  apparently  afterwards 
part  of  the  Israelite  dominion  east  of  Jordan,  was  conquered  and 
occupied  by  Reuben,  Gad,  and  Eastern  Manasseh.  Jetur  is  often 
identified  with  the  Ituraeans. 

16.  villages1  .  .  .  encampments-'.  It  is  not  certain  whether 
both  the  Hebrew  words  refer  to  movable  camps,  or  whether 
the  former  means  permanent  '  villages.' 

twelve  :  like  the  tribes  of  Israel  and  the  sons  of  Nahor, 
xxii.  20  ff. 

nations3:  a  technical  term  for  a  tribe  or  clan. 

17.  gathered  unto  his  people.     See  verse  8. 

xxv.  18.     The  Territory  of  Ishmael  (?). 

Sources,  &c.  This  very  obscure  verse  is  meant  by  the  editor  to 
refer  to  the  Ishmaelites,  so  that  it  probably  did  refer  to  them  in 
the  source  from  which  he  took  it.  The  beginning  of  the  verse 
is  generally  ascribed  to  J,  and  sometimes  supposed  to  be  the  con- 
clusion of  J's  account  of  Hagar  and  Ishmael,  xvi.  1-14.  From 
Havilah  (see  on  ii.  11)  to  Shur  (see  on  xvi.  7)  may  mean  from 
North-East  Arabia  to  the  borders  of  Egypt. 

The  second  part  of  the  verse,  '  as  thou  goest  toward  Assyria,' 
&c,  &c,  is  commonly  regarded  as  made  up  of  later  additions. 

as  thou  goest  toward  Assyria  suggests  that  the  territory 
extended    north-east    towards    the    Euphrates,    unless    Asshur 

1  fyacer.  2  Tirak.   .  8  Ummah. 


262  GENESIS  25.  19-22.     PJ 

19  [P]  And  these  are  the  generations  of  Isaac,  Abraham's 
30  son :  Abraham  begat  Isaac  :  and  Isaac  was  forty  years 

old  when  he  took  Rebekah,  the  daughter  of  Bethuel  the 

Syrian  of  Paddan-aram,  the  sister  of  Laban  the  Syrian, 
21  to  be  his  wife.       [J]  And  Isaac  intreated  the  Lord  for 

his  wife,  because  she  was  barren :  and  the  Lord  was 
23  intreated  of  him,  and  Rebekah  his  wife  conceived.    And 

the  children  struggled  together  within  her ;  and  she  said, 

(Assyria)   here    and   xxv.   3  is  a   territory  between   Egypt  and 
Palestine. 

abode  (R.V.  marg.  '  settled '  Hebrew  '  fell ')  in  the  presence 
of  (R.  V.  marg.  '  over  against ')  all  his  brethren,  cf.  xvi.  12. 

xxv.  19,  20.     The  Marriage  of  Isaac  (P). 

20.  Syrian.  Hebrew  '  Aramaean.'  see  on  x.  22  ;  in  J,  xxii.  22, 
Bethuel  is  a  son  of  Nahor  and  related  to  Abraham  ;  but  according 
to  P  Abraham  and  Nahor  are  connected  by  a  long  descent,  x. 
22,  xi,  with  Arpachshad,  the  brother  of  Aram. 

Paddan-aram:  only  in  the  Priestly  portions  of  Genesis ;  in  J, 
xxiv.  10,  '  the  city  of  Nahor '  is  in  Aram-naharaim.  There  is  no 
certain  explanation  of  'Paddan';  according  to  one  theory  it 
represents  an  Assyrian  word  for  'field.'  According  to  Hos.  xii. 
12  'Jacob  fled  into  the  field  l  of  Aram.' 

xxv.  21-26.  Birth  of  Jacob  and  Esau. 

(Primitive  Document,  except  26  6  =  P.) 

21-23.  The  barren  Rebekah  conceives  through  Isaac's  prayers. 
Distressed  at  the  symptoms  of  her  pregnancy  she  obtains  an 
oracle  from  Yahweh. 

24  26 a2.  She  bears  twins,  first  the  red,  hairy  Esau,  then 
Jacob. 

26  b 3.  (P)     At  this  time  Isaac  was  seventy. 

Sources,  &c.  This  narrative  expresses  a  belief  in  the  close 
relationship  of  Israel  and  Edom.  The  oracle  in  verse  23  was 
doubtless  a  popular  proverbial  poem  current  long  before  the 
Primitive  Document  was  compiled.  Probably  in  the  original 
story  ch.  xxvi,  which  narrates  incidents  at  Gerar  and  does  not 
refer  to  Jacob  and  Esau,  stood  before  this  section. 

22.  children  :  implying  twins. 

1  Sadeh.  2  As  far  as  'Jacob.'  3  From  'and  Isaac.' 


GENESIS  25.  23-26.     J  263 

If  it  be  so,  wherefore  do  I  live  ?     And  she   went  to 
inquire  of  the  Lord.     And  the  Lord  said  unto  her,  23 

Two  nations  are  in  thy  womb, 

And  two  peoples  shall  be  separated  even  from  thy 
bowels  : 

And  the  one  people  shall  be  stronger  than  the  other 
people ; 

And  the  elder  shall  serve  the  younger. 
And  when  her  days  to  be  delivered  were  fulfilled,  behold,  24 
there  were  twins  in  her  womb.     And  the  first  came  forth  25 
red,  all  over  like  an  hairy  garment ;  and  they  called  his 
name  Esau.     And  after  that  came  forth  his  brother,  and  26 


If  it  be  so,  wherefore  do  I  live?  perhaps  meaning  that  the 
pain  was  too  great  to  bear  ;  the  R.  V.  marg.  'wherefore  am  I  thus,' 
i.  e.  '  pregnant,'  might  suggest  a  fear  of  miscarriage.  The  words 
are  practically  unintelligible. 

went  to  inquire  of  the  LORD  :  i.  e.  consulted  the  oracle  at 
some  sanctuary  of  Yahweh. 

23.  the  elder  shall  serve  the  younger.  In  this  line  popular 
tradition  preserves  the  recollection  of  a  time  when  Edom  (Esau), 
1  the  elder,'  was  superior  to  Israel  (Jacob).  Edom  was  a  settled, 
organized  monarchy  while  Israel  was  still  a  loose  group  of  nomad 
tribes;  but  David  conquered  Edom1,  and  then  'the  elder' 
(Edom)  served  'the  younger'  (Israel).  This  dependence  of 
Edom  on  Israel  or  Judah  continued  with  intervals  perhaps  as 
late  as  the  reign  of  Uzziah.  This  short  poem  may  have  originated 
in  the  exaltation  of  the  Israelites  at  David's  conquests. 

25.  red  (R.  V.  marg.  'ruddy'),  all  over  like  an  hairy  garment; 
and  they  called  his  name  Esau.  We  should  expect  to  find  in 
these  words  a  derivation  of  the  name  Esau,  but  none  is  given  ; 
there  doubtless  was  one  in  the  original  story,  but  it  has  been 
replaced  by  the  editor  by  two  etymologies  connected  with  other 
names  of  Esau ;  '  red,'  'admoni,  would  explain  Edom 2 ;  and 
'hair,'  se'ar,  would  explain  Seir. 

they  called:  i.e.  'people  called,1  in  idiomatic  English  'his 
name  was  called.'     '  They '  must  be  understood  as  indefinite. 

Esau.  No  probable  explanation  of  this  name  has  yet  been 
suggested. 

1  2  Sam.  viii.  14.  2  Cf.  verse  30. 


264  GENESIS  25.  37,  28.     JPJ 

his  hand  had  hold  on  Esau's  heel;  and  his  name  was 
called  Jacob :  [P]  and  Isaac  was  threescore  years  old  when 

37  she  bare  them.  [J]  And  the  boys  grew  :  and  Esau  was 
a  cunning  hunter,  a  man  of  the  field ;  and  Jacob  was  a 

28  plain  man,  dwelling  in  tents.     Now  Isaac  loved  Esau, 

26.  heel ;  and  his  name  was  called  Jacob  :  R.  V.  marg. 
*  That  is,  One  that  takes  by  the  heel  or  supplants.''  i  Heel'=  'aqeb  ; 
'  Jacob  '  =  Ya'aqob,  cf.  Hos.  xii.  3.  In  Gen.  xxvii.  36,  J,  the 
name  is  explained  as  '  supplanter.'  Jacob  is  commonly  regarded 
now  as  a  contraction  for  Jacob-el,  which  is  variously  explained 
1  God  follows,'  &c.  The  Babylonian  equivalents  of  both  Jacob 
and  Jacob-el  are  said  to  occur  in  Babylonian  documents  of  the 
time  of  Hammurabi l.  Jacob,  like  Israel,  is  also  used  as  the  name 
of  the  people,  and  Jacob  is  sometimes  regarded  as  an  eponymous 
ancestor,  i.  e.  both  name  and  individual  are  supposed  to  have 
originated  from  the  people.  But  neither  Jacob  nor  Jacob-el  looks 
like  a  tribal  name 2 ;  and  Jacob  may  be  a  corruption  of  an  older 
form  of  the  name ;  or  Jacob  (-el)  may  have  been  the  name  of  an 
ancient  tribal  hero,  and  stories  concerning  this  hero  may  have 
been  combined  with  other  narratives  giving  tribal  history  in  the 
form  of  stories  of  the  life  of  Israel,  the  eponymous  ancestor  of  the 
nation. 

xxv.  27-34.     Esau  Sells  his  Birthright  (J). 

27,  28.  Esau  becomes  a  hunter,  Jacob  a  dweller  in  tents  ; 
Esau  is  his  father's  and  Jacob  his  mother's  favourite. 

29-34.  Esau  comes  in  hungry  from  hunting,  and  sells  his 
birthright  to  Jacob  for  bread  and  lentil  pottage. 

Sources,  &c.  Scholars  are  divided  as  to  whether  this  section 
belongs  to  E  or  J,  and  the  ascription  to  J  must  only  be  taken  as 
probable,  not  as  certain.  This  narrative,  like  the  oracle  in  the 
previous  section,  explains  why  it  was  legitimate  for  Israel  to  be  the 
superior  and  suzerain  ofEdom,  although  Edom  was  the  older  state. 

27.  cunning:  skilful. 

man  of  the  field :  a  description  of  the  hunter,  who  spends  his 
time  in  the  '  field,'  i.  e.  the  open  country. 

a  plain  man.  For  '  plain '  R.  V.  marg.  offers  the  alternatives 
of 'quiet'  or  'harmless,'  the  Hebrew  meaning  literally  'perfect.' 
No  doubt  the  author  (an  Israelite)  implies  the  same  kind  of  con- 
trast between  Esau  and  Jacob  as  that  expressed  by  'Bohemian' 
and  'respectable.' 

dwelling-  in  tents :  a  nomad  herdsman,  cf.  iv.  20. 

28.  Cf.  xxvii.  4  ff. 


1  See  p.  i(5,  and  on  xiv.  1.  2  Cf.  Cheyne,  EncycL  Bibl. 


GENESIS  25.  29-34.     J  265 

because  he  did  eat  of  his  venison :  and  Rebekah  loved 
Jacob.     And  Jacob   sod  pottage :    and  Esau   came   in  29 
from  the  field,  and  he  was  faint :  and  Esau  said  to  Jacob,  30 
Feed  me,  I  pray  thee,  with  that  same  red  pottage ;  for  I 
am  faint :  therefore  was  his  name  called  Edom.     And  31 
Jacob  said,  Sell  me  this  day  thy  birthright.     And  Esau  32 
said,  Behold,  I  am  at  the  point  to  die :  and  what  profit 
shall  the  birthright  do  to  me  ?     And  Jacob  said,  Swear  33 
to  me  this  day ;  and  he  sware  unto  him  :  and  he  sold 
his  birthright  unto  Jacob.     And  Jacob  gave  Esau  bread  34 
and  pottage  of  lentils  ;  and  he  did  eat  and  drink,  and 

29.  sod  pottag-e :  was  boiling  soup. 

30.  that  same  red  pottage  :  literally,  '  the  red  !  this  red  ! '  A 
fair  equivalent  in  colloquial  English  would  be,  'some  of  that  red 
stuff!  that  red  stuff  there  ! ' 

Edom.  The  Hebrew  for '  red  '  is  'Adorn.  The  name  is  some- 
times derived  from  the  red  cliffs  of  Edom,  sometimes  supposed  to 
be  merely  another  form  of  Adam,  'man/  and  sometimes  to  be  the 
name  of  a  deity1.  In  xiv.  6  the  Horites  are  placed  in  Mount 
Seir  (Edom)  presumably  before  the  Edomites  ;  but  it  is  not  clear 
how  far  this  view  can  be  pushed  or  to  what  exact  date  the  Edomite 
occupation  of  Mount  Seir  can  be  traced  back8.  But  we  may  pro- 
bably conclude  from  a  variety  of  evidence  that  the  Edomites  were 
settled  in  their  territory  before  the  Israelites  conquered  Canaan. 
31  and  33.  this  day:  R.  V.  marg.  'first  of  all.' 

31.  birthright.  According  to  Israelite  law  and  custom  in  the 
time  of  the  monarchy  the  eldest  son  was  the  head  of  the  family, 
and  had  the  largest  share  of  the  property,  Deut.  xxi.  15-17.  It  is 
remarkable,  however,  that  the  inheritance  of  the  promise  in 
the  chosen  family  is  constantly  traced  through  youngest  or 
younger  sons,  thus  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob.  Further,  Joseph  is 
almost,  and  perhaps  in  the  original  story  quite,  the  youngest  son  of 
Jacob.  David  and  Solomon  are  also  youngest  sons.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  these  facts  indicate  '  a  state  of  society  in  which 
succession  went  by  junior-right,'  i.  e.  the  youngest,  not  the  eldest 
son,  inherited,  a  custom  found  in  various  communities  at  different 
periods  3. 

1  Cf.  Obed-Edom  and  Obadiah. 

2  The  deductions  which  may  be  drawn  from  Egyptian  and  Assyrian 
sources  are  still  matters  of  controversy. 

3  Cf.  Jacobs,  Biblical  Archaeology ,  pp.  466*. 


266  GENESIS  26.  i.     JR 

rose  up,  and  went  his  way :  so  Esau  despised  his  birth- 
right. 
26      [R]  And  there  was  a  famine  in  the  land,  beside  the  first 

34.  despised  Ms  birthright :  and  so  showed  himself  unworthy 
of  it. 

xxvi.  1-33.  Isaac  at  Gerar. 

1-5.  (R)  On  account  of  a  famine  Isaac,  forbidden  by  Yahweh 
to  go  to  Egypt,  sojourns  at  Gerar ;  and  Yahweh  renews  to  him 
the  promise  given  to  Abraham. 

6-1 1.  t  J)  Isaac  sojourns  at  Gerar,  and  represents  that  Rebekah 
is  his  sister ;  the  king,  Abimelech,  discovers  the  deceit. 

12-14.  (J)  Isaac  grows  corn,  and  becomes  rich,  so  that  his 
wealth  excites  the  envy  of  the  Philistines. 

15-33.  (J)  Isaac  and  his  herdsmen  dispute  with  the  Philistines 
for  the  possession  of  certain  wells.  The  dispute  is  settled  by 
a  covenant,  and  on  the  day  of  the  covenant  (by  oath)  a  well  is 
found  by  Isaac's  servants  and  named  the  'Well  of  the  Oath' — 
Beer-sheba. 

Sources,  &c.  This  section  belongs  in  the  main1  to  the  Primitive 
Document,  J.  It  consists  chiefly  of  new  editions  of  narratives 
which  we  have  already  met  with  elsewhere  :  (a)  The  Patriarch's 
Wife  and  the  Harem  of  a  Gentile  King;  (Jb)  The  Patriarch,  the  King 
of  Gerar,  and  the  Wells. 

(a)  The  Patriarch's  Wife  and  the  Harem  of  a  Gentile  King.  This 
story  has  already  been  told  of  Sarah  and  Pharaoh  ;  and  of  Sarah 
and  Abimelech  of  Gerar 2.  In  this  account,  however,  the  experience 
of  the  patriarch's  wife  is  less  painful  than  in  the  other  two,  she  is 
not  actually  taken  into  the  harem.  This  feature  perhaps  marks 
a  late  version  of  the  story ;  or  it  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
story  is  told  of  Isaac.  The  Hebrew  for  '  Isaac  was  sporting '  is 
Yichaq  mecaheq,  '  the  Sporter  sporting '  or  '  the  Laugher  laughing.' 

(b)  The  Patriarch,  the  King  of  Gerar,  and  the  Wells.  This  story 
has  already  been  told  3  more  briefly  of  Abraham.  In  both  versions 
we  have  Abimelech  and  Phicol,  the  scene  is  laid  at  Beer-sheba, 
and  the  dispute  is  ended  by  a  covenant,  which  gives  name  to  Beer- 
sheba. 

The  editor  was  conscious  of  the  resemblances  between  this  and 
previous  sections,  and  makes  various  additions  to  explain  that, 
in  his  opinion,  these  stories  are  sequels  to,  and  not  repetitions 
of,  those  which  he  has  previously  narrated. 

The  various  incidents,  such  as  the  dangers  which  even  married 

1  Cf .  below. 

2  Gen.  xii.  10-20  (J),  and  xx  (E),  see  notes  on  these  passages. 

3  Gen.  xxi.  22-34,  which  see. 


GENESIS  26.  2-8.     R  J  $9 

famine  that  was  in  the  days  of  Abraham.     And  Isaac 
went  unto  Abimelech  king  of  the  Philistines  unto  Gerar. 
And  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him,  and  said,  Go  not  2 
down  into  Egypt ;  dwell  in  the  land  which  I  shall  tell 
thee  of :  sojourn  in  this  land,  and  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  3 
will  bless  thee ;  for  unto  thee,  and  unto  thy  seed,  I  will 
give  all  these  lands,  and  I  will  establish  the  oath  which  I 
sware  unto  Abraham  thy  father ;  and  I  will  multiply  thy  4 
seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  will  give  unto  thy  seed 
all  these  lands ;  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  be  blessed ;  because  that  Abraham  obeyed  my  5 
voice,    and   kept  my   charge,    my   commandments,  my 
statutes,  and  my  laws.    [J]  And  Isaac  dwelt  in  Gerar :  and  6,  * 
the  men  of  the  place  asked  him  of  his  wife  ;  and  he  said, 
She  is  my  sister  :  for  he  feared  to  say,  My  wife ;  lest, 
said  he,  the  men  of  the  place  should  kill  me  for  Rebekah  : 
because  she  was  fair  to  look  upon.     And  it  came  to  8 
pass,  when  he  had  been  there  a  long  time,  that  Abime- 

women  ran  amongst  strangers,  and  the  expedients  to  which  they 
had  resort ;  the  disputes  about  the  wells,  and  the  covenants  by 
which  they  were  ended,  were  familiar  features  of  the  ancient  life, 
which  were  naturally  reproduced  in  the  stories  told  of  tribal 
heroes. 

1.  a  famine  :  as  in  xii.  10. 

beside  the  first  famine  that  was  in  the  days  of  Abra- 
ham :  probably  an  addition  of  the  editor,  cf.  above. 

Abimelech  .  .  .  Gerar.     See  xx.  2. 

Philistines.  See  xxi.  32.  The  mention  of  the  Philistines 
is  an  anachronism,  as  they  did  not  settle  in  Palestine  till  after  the 
Exodus. 

2-5.  These  verses  are  largely  a  repetition  of  the  blessings  to 
Abraham,  xii.  2,  3,  7,  xv.  5,  xvii.  7,  xxii.  17,  and  are  probably  an 
addition  of  the  editor,  with  the  exception  of  '  And  Yahweh 
appeared  unto  him,  and  said  .  .  .  "  Sojourn  in  this  land,  and  I  will 
be  with  thee,  and  will  bless  thee."  ' 
7.  my  sister.     Cf.  xii.  13,  19,  xx.  5. 

should  kill  me.     Cf.  xii.  12,  xx.  11. 

fair  to  look  upon.     Cf.  xii.  11. 


2<5/b  GENESIS  26.  9-14.     J 

lech  king  of  the  Philistines  looked  out  at  a  window,  and 
saw,  and,  behold,  Isaac  was  sporting  with  Rebekah  his 
9  wife.  And  Abimelech  called  Isaac,  and  said,  Behold,  of 
a  surety  she  is  thy  wife  :  and  how  saidst  thou,  She  is  my 
sister  ?     And  Isaac  said  unto  him,  Because  I  said,  Lest 

10  I  die  for  her.  And  Abimelech  said,  What  is  this  thou 
hast  done  unto  us?  one  of  the  people  might  lightly  have 
lien  with  thy  wife,  and  thou  shouldest  have  brought  guilti- 

11  ness  upon  us.  And  Abimelech  charged  all  the  people, 
saying,   He  that  toucheth  this   man  or  his  wife   shall 

12  surely  be  put  to  death.  And  Isaac  sowed  in  that  land, 
and  found  in  the  same  year  an  hundredfold  :  and  the 

13  Lord  blessed  him.     And  the  man  waxed  great,  and 

14  grew  more  and  more  until  he  became  very  great :  and  he 
had  possessions  of  flocks,  and  possessions  of  herds,  and 
a   great    household :    and   the   Philistines   envied   him. 

8.  Isaac  was  sporting1.     See  above. 

9.  Lest  X  die  for  her.     Cf.  xx.  11. 

10.  What  is  this,  &c.     Cf.  xii.  18,  xx.  10. 

guiltiness.  The  guilt  would  have  arisen  from  the  fact 
that  Rebekah  was  a  married  woman  ;  and  according  to  the 
ideas  of  the  time  the  ignorance  of  the  offender  would  not  have 
excused  him. 

12;  Isaac  sowed.  Seed,  seed  time,  and  harvest  have  been 
mentioned  before  *,  but  there  has  been  no  reference  to  any 
actual  'sowing.'  Perhaps  we  have  here  a  trace  of  a  story  in 
which  the  cultivation  of  grain  was  first  instituted  by  Isaac.  But 
this  can  hardly  be  the  meaning  of  the  statement  in  its  present 
context.  It  may  be  connected  with  the  long  time  (verse  8)  of 
Isaac's  sojourning  there,  and  with  Yahweh's  making  room  (verse 
22)  for  him  in  the  land  ;  and  suggests  the  idea  that  the  Israelites 
before  the  Exodus  were  not  always  nomads,  but  that  some  of 
them,  at  any  rate,  settled  down  and  became  cultivators  of  the  soil. 
In  this  and  many  other  of  the  patriarchal  narratives  it  is 
implied  that  Israel  had  lights  to  the  soil  of  Canaan,  acquired 
before  the  captivity  in  Egypt. 

an  hundredfold  :  an  exceptional,  but  not  an  unparalleled,  re- 
turn, cf  Mark  iv.  8,  '  thirtyfold  and  sixtyfold  and  a  hundredfold.' 

1  Gen.  i.  1 1  (P),  viii.  22.  (J). 


GENESIS       .  :^j~4.     J  269 

Now  all  the  wells  which  his  father's  servants  had  digged  15 
in  the  days  of  Abraham  his  father,  the  Philistines  had 
stopped    them,     and    filled    them    with    earth.      And  16 
Abimelech  said  unto  Isaac,  Go  from  us;  for  thou  art 
much  mightier  than  we.     And  Isaac  departed  thence.  17 
and  encamped  in  the  valley  of  Gerar,  and  dwelt  there. 
And  Isaac  digged  again  the  wells  of  water,  which  they  18 
had  digged  in  the  days  of  Abraham  his  father ;  for  the 
Philistines  had  stopped  them  after  the  death  of  Abraham  : 
and  he  called  their  names  after  the  names  by  which  his 
father  had  called  them.     And  Isaac's  servants  digged  in  19 
the  valley,  and  found  there  a  well  of  springing  water. 
And  the  herdmen  of  Gerar  strove  with  Isaac's  herdmen,  20 
saying,  The  water  is  ours  :  and  he  called  the  name  of  the 
well  Esek;    because   they  contended  with   him.     And  21 
they  digged  another  well,  and  they  strove  for  that  also : 
and  he  called  the  name  of  it  Sitnah.     And  he  removed  22 
from  thence,  and  digged  another  well ;  and  for  that  they 
strove  not :  and  he  called  the  name  of  it  Rehoboth  •  and 
he  said,  For  now  the  Lord  hath  made  room  for  us,  and 
we  shall  be  fruitful  in  the  land.     And  he  went  up  from  23 
thence  to  Beer-sheba.     And  the  Lord  appeared  unto  24 
him  the  same  night,  and  said,  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham 

15,  18.  These  verses  are  commonly  regarded  as  additions  by 
the  editor,  who  wished  to  distinguish  this  narrative  from  xxi. 

19.  springing  :  R.  V.  marg.  '  living.' 

20.  the  herdmen  .  .  .  strove.     Cf.  xxi.  25. 

Esek :   the  Hebrew  for  '  contention  '  ;  the  site  is  unknown, 
only  mentioned  here. 

21.  Sitnah:  the  Hebrew  for  '  enmity  ' ;  a  modern  Shutnet  is 
mentioned  near  the  Rehoboth  of  verse  22,  only  mentioned 
here. 

22.  Rehoboth:  the  Hebrew  for  'broad  places,'  often  identified^ 
with  a  modern  Ruhebe  some  distance  south  of  Beer-sheba.      This 
Rehoboth  is  only  mentioned  here. 

23.  Beer-sheba.     See  on  xxi.  14,  31-33. 


270  GENESIS  26.  25-33.     J 

thy  father :  fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee,  and  will  bless 
thee,  and  multiply  thy  seed  for  my  servant  Abraham's 

25  sake.  And  he  builded  an  altar  there,  and  called  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  pitched  his  tent  there :  and 

26  there  Isaac's  servants  digged  a  well.  Then  Abimelech 
went  to  him  from  Gerar,  and  Ahuzzath  his  friend,  and 

27  Phicol  the  captain  of  his  host.  And  Isaac  said  unto 
them,  Wherefore  are  ye  come  unto  me,  seeing  ye  hate 

28  me,  and  have  sent  me  away  from  you  ?  And  they  said, 
We  saw  plainly  that  the  Lord  was  with  thee  :  and  we 
said,  Let  there  now  be  an  oath  betwixt  us,  even  betwixt 

29  us  and  thee,  and  let  us  make  a  covenant  with  thee  ;  that 
thou  wilt  do  us  no  hurt,  as  we  have  not  touched  thee, 
and  as  we  have  done  unto  thee  nothing  but  good,  and 
have  sent  thee  away  in  peace :  thou  art  now  the  blessed 

30  of  the  Lord.     And  he  made  them  a  feast,  and  they  did 

31  eat  and  drink.  And  they  rose  up  betimes  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  sware  one  to  another:  and  Isaac  sent  them 

32  away,  and  they  departed  from  him  in  peace.  And  it 
came  to  pass  the  same  day,  that  Isaac's  servants  came, 
and  told  him  concerning  the  well  which  they  had  digged, 

33  and  said  unto  him,  We  have  found  water.  And  he  called 
it  Shibah  :  therefore  the  name  of  the  city  is  Beer-sheba 
unto  this  day. 


26.  Ahuzzath  =  '  possession,1  only  here.     In  Goliath  we  hath 
another  Philistine  name  in  ath. 

his  friend,  j  Friend  '  was  a  technical  term  for  an  official  of 
a  royal  court ;  cf.  1  Chron.  xxvii.  33,  '  Hushai  the  Archite  was 
the  king's  friend.'  Our  information  does  not  enable  us  to  define 
the  precise  duties  of  this  official,  but  we  may  think  of  him  as 
a  '  secretary  of  state.' 

Phicol.     See  xxi.  22. 

23.  Let  there  now  be  an  oath.     Cf.  xxi.  23. 

31.  sware.     Cf.  xxi.  31. 

33.  Shihah  =  '  oath,'  cf.  xxi.  31. 


GENESIS  26.  34—27.  i.     PJE  271 

[P]  And  when  Esau  was  forty  years  old  he  took  to  34 
wife  Judith  the  daughter  of  Beeri  the  Hittite,  and  Base- 
math  the  daughter  of  Elon  the  Hittite  :  and  they  were  a  35 
grief  of  mind  unto  Isaac  and  to  Rebekah. 

[JE]  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  when  Isaac  was  old,  27 

xxvi.  34,  35.     Esau's  Wives  (P). 

Esau  grieves  his  parents  by  marrying  two  Hittite  women. 

Sources,  &c.  This  section  may  point  to  the  connexion  of  Edom 
with  its  Canaanite *  neighbours.  Its  interest  for  the  Priestly  writer 
and  his  post-exilic  readers  lay  in  the  implied  condemnation  of 
intermarriage  with  Canaanites.     Cf.  xxxvi.  2,  3. 

34.  Judith :  only  here  in  our  O.  T. ,  but  the  name  was  bor- 
rowed for  the  heroine  of  the  Book  of  Judith.  But  as  Judith  = 
'Jewess'  the  name  here  must  be  a  corruption  of  some  other  if  the 
section  has  any  historical  basis  ;  or  indeed  one  would  think  in 
any  case. 

Beeri  =  '  belonging  to  the  well,'  also  the  name  of  the  father 
of  the  prophet  Hosea. 

Hittite.     See  on  xv.  20,  xxiii.  3. 

fiasemath.  In  xxxvi.  2,  3  (which  see),  usually  regarded  as 
a  late  addition  to  the  Priestly  Document  and  therefore  not  by  the 
same  author  as  this  verse,  we  have  a  list  of  Esau's  wives  which 
cannot  be  reconciled  with  this  passage.  There,  too,  Esau  marries 
a  daughter  of  Elon  the  Hittite,  but  her  name  is  Adah  ;  he  also 
marries  a  Basemath  ;  but  she  is  a  daughter  of  Ishmael ;  whereas 
in  a  third  passage,  xxviii.  9,  P,  an  obvious  sequel  to  this  verse, 
Esau  marries  a  daughter  of  Ishmael,  but  her  name  is  Mahalath. 
The  confusion  is  doubtless  due  to  the  carelessness  of  writers  and 
scribes  as  to  names  which  were  nothing  but  names.  The  name 
probably  =  \  fragrance  '  ;  it  was  also  borne  by  a  daughter  of 
Solomon,  1  Kings  iv.  15. 

Elon  :  perhaps  originally  the  name  of  a  place  connected  with 
the  words  for  'oak'  or  'terebinth,'  'Elon,  Elah,  &c,  only  here 
and  xxxvi.  2  ;  but  the  same  name  is  found  for  a  clan  of  Zebulun, 
xlvi.  14,  and  one  of  the  Judges2. 

35.  grief  of  mind.     1^.  V.  marg.  Heb.  '  bitterness  of  spirit.' 

xxvii.  1-45.  Jacob  and  Rebekah  defraud  Esau  of  his 
Father's  Blessing,  Jacob's  Flight. 

(A  narrative  compiled  by  piecing  together  alternate  clauses,  &c, 

1  See  on  xxiii.  3.  3  Judges  xii.  11. 


272  GENESIS  27.  2.     JE 

and  his  eyes  were  dim,  so  that  he  could  not  see,  he 

called  Esau  his  elder  son,  and  said  unto  him,  My  son.: 

2  and  he  said  unto  him,  Here  am  I.     And  he  said,  Behold 

from  two  accounts,  one  found  in  J  and  the  other  in  E,  i.  e.  a  nar- 
rative which  may  be  indicated  by  the  symbol  JE.) 

1-4.  Isaac,  being  old  and  blind,  asks  Esau  to  get  venison,  and 
make  savoury  meat,  that  he  may  give  him  his  last  blessing. 

5-17.  Rebekah  overhears,  and  dresses  Jacob  up  in  Esau's 
clothes,  and  puts  skins  on  his  hands  and  neck,  that  he  may  per- 
sonate Esau.  She  sends  Jacob  to  Isaac  with  savoury  meat  made 
from  kids'  flesh,  that  he  may  obtain  the  blessing. 

18-29.  Jacob  goes  in,  succeeds  in  removing  his  father's  doubts, 
and  receives  the  blessing :  he  is  to  inhabit  a  fertile  land,  and  rule 
over  his  brethren. 

30-40.  As  soon  as  Jacob  has  gone  out  Esau  comes  with  his 
savoury  meat,  and  discovers  the  fraud.  In  response  to  his  en- 
treaties his  father  also  gives  him  an  ambiguous  blessing,  which 
partly  sounds  like  that  given  to  Jacob,  but  may  mean  that  Esau 
shall  inhabit  a  sterile  land.  He  shall  be  a  freebooter,  and  become 
subject  to  Jacob,  but  shall  ultimately  assert  his  independence. 

Sources,  &c.  Most  scholars  are  agreed  that  this  section  was 
compiled  by  combining  passages  from  the  Primitive  and  the  Elo- 
histic  Documents.  Thus  Yahweh  appears  in  verses  7,  20,  27,  and 
God  in  verse  28.  It  is  supposed,  too,  that  the  '  savoury  meat ' 
belongs  to  one  narrative  and  the  '  venison '  to  another ;  the 
'  goodly  raiment '  to  one  and  the  '  skins  of  the  kids '  to  another  ; 
and  in  other  ways  various  passages  are  perhaps  better  under- 
stood as  a  combination  of  two  parallel  accounts  than  as  a  single 
consecutive  narrative,  e.g.  i6  =  E  'and  said  unto  him,'  &c,  and 
2  =  J  ;  20  =  J,  and  21-23  =E.  But  there  is  so  little  agreement  as 
to  the  exact  verses  which  belong  to  each  document  that  it  has 
been  thought  better  not  to  attempt  to  distinguish  them  in  the  text. 

Here  again,  as  in  the  oracle  to  Rebekah  and  the  sale  of  the 
birthright  \  the  section  is  partly  national  history  in  the  form  of 
a  personal  narrative.  It  reflects  the  suzerainty  of  Israel a,  the 
successful  revolt  of  Edom s,  and  the  mutual  enmity  *.  Here 
again  also  the  Jewish  reader  would  find  a  legal  justification  for 
the  preference  of  the  younger  brother.  Probably  the  original 
narratives  used  by  J  and  E  felt  no  moral  difficulty  as  to  the  trick 
played  by  Jacob  and  Rebekah,  but  rather  sympathized  with  it, 
and  enjoyed  its  cleverness  ;  it  was  on  a  level  with  the  patriarchal 
habit  of  describing  a  wife  as  a  sister.     But  in  Genesis  as  we  have 

1  Gen.  xxv.  21-34.        8  Verses  29,  40.        3  Verse  40.       4  Verse  41. 


GENESIS  27.  3-11.     JE  273 

now,  I  am  old,  I  know  not  the  day  of  my  death.     Now  3 
therefore  take,  I  pray  thee,  thy  weapons,  thy  quiver  and 
thy  bow,  and  go  out  to  the  field,  and  take  me  venison  ; 
and  make  me  savoury  meat,  such  as  I  love,  and  bring  it  4 
to  me,  that  I  may  eat;  that  my  soul  may  bless  thee 
before  I  die.     And  Rebekah  heard  when  Isaac  spake  to  5 
Esau  his  son.     And  Esau  went  to  the  field  to  hunt  for 
venison,  and  to   bring  it.     And  Rebekah   spake   unto  6 
Jacob  her  son,  saying,  Behold,  I  heard  thy  father  speak 
unto  Esau  thy  brother,  saying,  Bring  me  venison,  and  7 
make  me  savoury  meat,  that  I  may  eat,  and  bless  thee 
before  the  Lord  before  my  death.     Now  therefore,  my  8 
son,  obey  my  voice  according  to  that  which  I  command 
thee.     Go  now  to  the  flock,  and  fetch  me  from  thence  9 
two  good  kids  of  the  goats ;    and  I  will   make  them 
savoury  meat  for  thy  father,  such  as  he  loveth  :  and  thou  10 
shalt  bring  it  to  thy  father,  that  he  may  eat,  so  that  he 
may  bless  thee  before  his  death.     And  Jacob  said  to  11 

it  the  trick  is  the  source  of  much  distress  to  its  authors,  and  we 
have  a  right  to  draw  obvious  moral  lessons  from  the  narrative. 

This  section,  again,  is  not  merely  history  in  the  form  of  personal 
narrative ;  the  numerous  graphic  details  must  be  drawn  from  the 
experience  of  individuals  *, 

2.  I  know  not  the  day  of  my  death :  i.  e.  I  may  die  at  any 
time. 

4.  my  soul :  rather,  an  emphatic  '  1/  '  with  my  whole  heart 
and  soul.' 

7.  before  the  LORD.  The  phrase  usually  implies  that  the 
action  takes  place  at  a  sanctuary ;  and  it  is  sometimes  supposed 
that  the  reference  here  is  to  an  image  of  Yahweh.  A  nomad 
sheikh,  however,  might  have  some  private  shrine  without  an 
image  ;  or  the  phrase  may  merely  mean  \  as  a  solemn  religious 
act,  calling  upon  Yahweh  to  witness  and  confirm  the  blessing.' 

10.  may  bless  thee :  instead  of  Esau.  Rebekah  may  have 
thought  that  the  promise  made  to  her,  xxv.  23,  and  the  sale  of  the 
birthright,  xxv.  33,  gave  Jacob  a  right  to  the  blessing  ;  that  Isaac 

1  For  the  poems  27-29,  39,  40  see  pp.  276  f. 
T 


274  GENESIS  27.  12-19.     JE 

Rebekah  his  mother,  Behold,  Esau  my  brother  is  a  hairy 

12  man,  and  I  am  a  smooth  man.  My  father  peradventure 
will  feel  me,  and  I  shall  seem  to  him  as  a  deceiver  ;  and 

13  I  shall  bring  a  curse  upon  me,  and  not  a  blessing.  And 
his  mother  said  unto  him,  Upon  me  be  thy  curse,  my 

14  son  :  only  obey  my  voice,  and  go  fetch  me  them.  And 
he  went,  and  fetched,  and  brought  them  to  his  mother  I 
and  his  mother  made  savoury  meat,  such  as  his  father 

15  loved.  And  Rebekah  took  the  goodly  raiment  of  Esau 
her  elder  son,  which  were  with  her  in  the  house,  and  put 

16  them  upon  Jacob  her  younger  son  :  and  she  put  the 
skins  of  the  kids  of  the  goats  upon  his  hands,  and  upon 

17  the  smooth  of  his  neck :  and  she  gave  the  savoury  meat 
and  the  bread,  which  she  had  prepared,  into  the  hand  of 

18  her  son  Jacob.  And  he  came  unto  his  father,  and  said, 
My  father  :  and  he  said,  Here  am  I ;  who  art  thou,  my 

19  son  ?  And  Jacob  said  unto  his  father,  I  am  Esau  thy 
firstborn  j  I  have  done  according  as  thou  badest  me : 

was  acting  wrongly;  and  that  she  was  justified  in  using  any 
means  to  ensure  a  righteous  end  :  as  if  God  could  not  cany  out 
His  purposes  without  the  aid  of  human  fraud. 

12.  My  father  peradventure  will  feel  me.     Jacob  shows  no 
moral  repugnance,  but  is  afraid  of  being  found  out. 

13.  thy  curse  :  i.  e.  the  curse  which  thy  father  may  pronounce 
against  thee. 

15.  goodly   raiment:    festal   attire,    or,    as   we    should    say, 
'  -Sunday  clothes.' 

which  were  with  her  in  the  house.  So  that  in  the  older 
story  Esau  was  not  yet  married1 — a  point  which  the  editor  over- 
looked when  he  inserted  the  Priestly  section,  xxvi.  34  f., 
concerning  Esau's  wives  before  this  chapter. 

18.  Here  am  I :   equivalent  to  our  l  Yes,'  with  which  any  one 
answers  when  addressed. 

who  art  thou.  The  old  man  is  not  only  too  blind  to  see 
which  son  it  is,  but  does  not  at  once  recognize  the  voice. 

1  So  Holzinger. 


GENESIS  27.  20-26.     JE  275 

arise,  I  pray  thee,  sit  and  eat  of  my  venison,  that  thy 
soul  may  bless  me.     And  Isaac  said  unto  his  son,  How  20 
is  it  that  thou  hast  found  it  so  quickly,  my  son?     And 
he  said,  Because  the  Lord  thy  God  sent  me  good  speed. 
And  Isaac  said  unto  Jacob,  Come  near,  I  pray  thee,  that  21 
I  may  feel  thee,  my  son,  whether  thou  be  my  very  son 
Esau   or   not.     And  Jacob  went   near   unto  Isaac   his  22 
father  ;  and  he  felt  him,  and  said,  The  voice  is  Jacob's 
voice,  but  the  hands  are  the  hands  of  Esau.     And  he  23 
discerned  him  not,  because  his  hands  were  hairy,  as  his 
brother  Esau's  hands  :  so  he  blessed  him.     And  he  said,  24 
Art  thou  my  very  son  Esau  ?     And  he  said,  I  am.    And  25 
he  said,  Bring  it  near  to  me,  and  I  will  eat  of  my  son's 
venison,  that  my  soul  may  bless  thee.     And  he  brought 
it  near  to  him,  and  he   did  eat :  and  he  brought  him 
wine,  and  he  drank.     And  his  father  Isaac  said  unto  26 


20.  found  it  so  quickly.  The  tricksters  had  been  obliged  to 
run  the  risk  of  exciting  suspicion  by  undue  promptness  in  order 
to  anticipate  the  return  of  Esau.  The  meanness  of  the  trick  is 
perhaps  a  little  mitigated  by  its  audacity  ;  Jacob  was  bound  to  be 
found  out  and  exposed  at  once  ;  but  according  to  primitive  ideas 
the  blessing  was  irrevocable  when  once  it  had  been  given,  no 
matter  how  it  had  been  obtained. 

the  LORD  thy  God.  This  may  not  be  merely  a  blasphemous 
lie  ;  possibly  Jacob  persuaded  himself  that  his  mother's  ingenious 
device  was  an  inspiration.  Worse  acts  have  been  done  on 
religious  pretexts  by  professedly  religious  people. 

21.  whether  thou  toe  my  very  son.  It  seems  quite  possible 
to  take  this  as  the  continuation  of  what  precedes.  The  short  con- 
versation has  made  Isaac  aware  that  '  the  voice  is  Jacob's  voice.' 
But  21-23  are  generally  regarded  as  being  from  another  story;  in 
20,  J,  Isaac's  suspicions  are  roused  by  the  promptness  with  which 
he  is  supplied  with  his  game  ;  in  21-23,  E,  it  is  the  voice  which 
makes  him  think  it  may  be  the  wrong  son. 

23.  hairy:  the  hair  of  the  kids'  skins. 

so  he  blessed  him :  out  of  place,  and  anticipating  verses 
26-29. 

24.  Art  thou  my  very  son  Esau :  the  natural  sequel  to  verse 
20. 

T  2 


276  GENESIS  27.  27-33.     jE 

27  him,  Come  near  now,  and  kiss  me,  my  son.  And  he 
came  near,  and  kissed  him  :  and  he  smelled  the  smell  of 
his  raiment,  and  blessed  him,  and  said, 

See,  the  smell  of  my  son 

Is  as  the  smell  of  a  field  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed  : 

28  And  God  give  thee  of  the  dew  of  heaven, 
And  of  the  fatness  of  the  earth, 

And  plenty  of  corn  and  wine  : 

29  Let  peoples  serve  thee, 

And  nations  bow  down  to  thee  : 

Be  lord  over  thy  brethren, 

And  let  thy  mother's  sons  bow  down  to  thee : 

Cursed  be  every  one  that  curseth  thee, 

And  blessed  be  every  one  that  blesseth  thee. 

30  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  soon  as  Isaac  had  made  an  end 
of  blessing  Jacob,  and  Jacob  was  yet  scarce  gone  out  from 
the  presence  of  Isaac  his  father,  that  Esau  his  brother 

31  came  in  from  his  hunting.  And  he  also  made  savoury 
meat,  and  brought  it  unto  his  father •  and  he  said  unto 
his  father,  Let  my  father   arise,  and   eat   of  his  son's 

32  venison,  that  thy  soul  may  bless  me.  And  Isaac  his 
father  said  unto  him,  Who  art  thou  ?    And  he  said,  I  am 

33  thy  son,  thy  firstborn,  Esau.     And  Isaac  trembled  very 

xxvii.  27-29 1.  This  poem  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  personal 
history  of  Jacob,  but  is  wholly  concerned  with  the  fortunes  of 
Israel,  the  nation,  at  a  time  when  it  was  in  possession  of  the 
Promised  Land, 

1  the  fatness  of  the  earth, 
And  plenty  of  corn  and  wine,' 
and  had  extended  its  authority  over  its  neighbours, 

'Be  lord  over  thy  brethren.' 
In  other  words,  the  poem  reflects  the  prosperous  days  of  David 
and  Solomon.    '  Brethren  '  stands  for  kinsfolk,  or  even  neighbours. 
28.  God  :  a  trace  of  the  Elohistic  Document. 

1  Cf.  p.  20. 


GENESIS  27.  34-39.     JE  277 

exceedingly,  and  said,  Who  then  is  he  that  hath  taken 
venison,   and  brought  it  me,   and  I  have   eaten  of  all 
before  thou  earnest,  and  have  blessed  him  ?  yea,  and  he 
shall  be  blessed.     When  Esau  heard  the  words  of  his  34 
father,  he  cried  with  an  exceeding  great  and  bitter  cry, 
and  said  unto  his  father,  Bless  me,  even  me  also,  O  my 
father.     x\nd  he  said,  Thy  brother  came  with  guile,  and  35 
hath  taken  away  thy  blessing.     And  he  said,  Is  not  he  36 
rightly  named  Jacob  ?  for  he  hath  supplanted  me  these 
two  times  :  he  took  away  my  birthright ;  and,  behold, 
now  he  hath  taken  away  my  blessing.     And  he  said,  Hast 
thou  not  reserved  a  blessing  for  me  ?    And  Isaac  answered  3  7 
and  said  unto  Esau,  Behold,  I  have  made  him  thy  lord, 
and  all  his  brethren  have  I  given  to  him  for  servants  ;  and 
with  corn  and  wine  have  I  sustained  him  :  and  what 
then  shall  I  do  for  thee,  my  son  ?     And  Esau  said  unto  38 
his  father,  Hast  thou  but  one  blessing,  my  father  ?  bless 
me,  even  me  also,  O  my  father.     And  Esau  lifted  up  his 
voice,  and  wept.     And  Isaac  his  father  answered  and  39 
said  unto  him, 

33.  yea,  and  he  shall  be  blessed.  The  mere  utterance  of  the 
blessing,  even  when  obtained  by  false  pretences,  is  final. 

36.  Jacob.  See  xxv.  26. 

my  birthright  .  .  .  my  blessing.  The  Hebrew  words  are 
similar  in  form — bekorathi  .  .  .  birkathi — and  suggest  a  play  upon 
words.  They  are  practically  identical  in  meaning1,  and  the 
blessing  was  an  important  element  in  the  birthright,  being  the 
rite,  as  it  were,  by  which  the  birthright  was  bestowed.  Originally, 
no  doubt,  the  story  of  the  lentil  pottage  and  this  narrative  were 
alternative  explanations  of  the  way  in  which  the  younger  brother 
obtained  the  birthright ;  and  our  verse  is  not  part  of  this  narrative 
in  its  oldest  form,  but  the  addition  of  an  editor. 

xxvii.  39,  40.  This  poem2,  also,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
experiences  of  the  individual  Esau,  but  describes  the  fortunes  of 
the  nation,  Edom  :  its  territory,  its  warlike  habits,  its  temporary 
subjection  to  Israel,  and,  finally,  its  successful  assertion  of  inde- 

1  So  Gunkel.  3  Cf-  on  27-29,  and  p.  20. 


278  GENESIS  27.  40-44.     JE 

Behold,    of  the   fatness   of  the    earth   shall   be   thy 

dwelling, 
And  of  the  dew  of  heaven  from  above; 

40  And  by  thy  sword  shalt  thou  live,  and  thou  shalt  serve 

thy  brother ; 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass  when  thou  shalt  break  loose, 
That  thou  shalt  shake  his  yoke  from  off  thy  neck. 

41  And  Esau  hated  Jacob  because  of  the  blessing  wherewith 
his  father  blessed  him  :  and  Esau  said  in  his  heart,  The 
days  of  mourning  for  my  father  are  at  hand  ;  then  will  I 

42  slay  my  brother  Jacob.  And  the  words  of  Esau  her 
elder  son  were  told  to  Rebekah  ;  and  she  sent  and  called 
Jacob  her  younger  son,  and  said  unto  him,  Behold,  thy 
brother  Esau,  as  touching  thee,  doth  comfort  himself, 

43  purposing  to  kill  thee.  Now  therefore,  my  son,  obey  my 
voice  ;  and  arise,  flee  thou  to  Laban  my  brother  to  Haran; 

44  and  tarry  with  him  a  few  days,  until  thy  brother's  fury  turn 

pendence.     The  last  event  can  hardly  be  earlier  than  the  time  of 
Jehoshaphat ;  so  that  this  poem  is  probably  later  than  verses  27-29. 

39.  of  the  R.  V.  marg.  ( '  away  from ')  fatness  of  the  earth 
...  of  the  R.  V.  marg.  ('away  from')  dew  of  heaven.  The 
Hebrew  phrases  here  are  the  same  as  those  rendered  '  of  the  dew 
of  heaven  ...  of  the  fatness  of  the  earth  '  in  verse  28.  As  the 
alternatives  offered  by  R.  V.  and  R.  V.  marg.  show,  the  phrases 
are  ambiguous ;  but  we  should  probably  render  '  away  from  '  in 
39.  We  do  not,  however,  gather  from  the  accounts  of  travellers 
that  there  can  have  been  any  very  striking  contrast  between 
Israel  and  Edom  in  respect  of  fertility. 

40.  by  thy  sword  shalt  thou  live  :  after  the  manner  of  the 
modern  Bedouin,  by  raiding  less  warlike  peoples,  plundering 
caravans,  or  levying  blackmail  to  allow  them  to  pass  in  peace  and 
protect  them  from  other  banditti. 

thou  shalt  shake  his  yoke  from  off  thy  neck.  Revolts  of 
Edom  are  mentioned  in  the  reigns  of  Solomon,  apparently  un- 
successful, 1  Kings  xi.  14-22,  Jehoram  of  Judah,  2  Kings  viii.  20- 
22,  and  finally  Ahaz,  2  Kings  xvi.  6,  where  we  should  read  with 
R.  V.  marg.  '  the  Edomites  came  to  Elath  and  dwelt  there,  unto 
this  day.' 

44.  until   thy   brother's   fury  turn  away.      45.   until  thy 


GENESIS  27.  45— 28.  2.     JEP  279 

away  :  until  thy  brother's  anger  turn  away  from  thee,  and  45 
he  forget  that  which  thou  hast  done  to  him :  then  I  will 
send,  and  fetch  thee  from  thence :    why  should  I  be 
bereaved  of  you  both  in  one  day  ? 

[P]  And  Rebekah  said  to  Isaac,  I  am  weary  of  my  life  46 
because  of  the  daughters  of  Heth  :  if  Jacob  take  a  wife 
of  the  daughters  of  Heth,  such  as  these,  of  the  daughters 
of  the  land,  what  good  shall  my  life  do  me  ?     And  Isaac  28 
called  Jacob,  and  blessed  him,  and  charged  him,  and 
said  unto  him,  Thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Canaan.     Arise,  go  to  Paddan-aram,  to  the  house   2 
of  Bethuel   thy  mother's   father;   and  take  thee  a  wife 
from   thence  of  the  daughters  of  Laban   thy   mother's 

■brother's  anger  turn  away.  This  repetition  suggests  that,  of 
these  two  clauses,  one  is  taken  from  one  source,  and  the  other 
from  another. 

45.  be  bereaved  of  you  both.  This  is  commonly  explained  as 
meaning  that  if  Esau  killed  Jacob,  Rebekah  would  lose  both  her 
two  sons  on  the  same  day.  because  Esau  would  be  slain  by  Jacob's 
kinsfolk,  who  would  avenge  him  after  the  manner  of  the  Bedouin. 
It  seems,  however,  also  possible  that  '  both '  stands  for  Isaac  and 
Jacob.  Esau  proposed  to  kill  Jacob  as  soon  as  the  days  of  mourn- 
ing began,  verse  41,  not  waiting  till  they  were  ended.  As  soon  as 
the  breath  was  out  of  Isaac's  body  Esau  would  kill  Jacob,  and 
father  and  son  would  both  die  on  one  day.  The  story  does  not 
show  that  Rebekah  felt  any  special  affection  for  Esau. 

xxvii.  46.      Rebekah  on  the  Marriage  of  Jacob. 

A  fragment  of  a  Priestly  account  of  Jacob's  visit  to  Haran, 
which  rejects  the  discreditable  reasons  given  in  the  rest  of  this 
chapter  in  favour  of  a  more  satisfactory  explanation  of  his  journey 
thither.     Cf.  on  xxvi.  34. 

xxviii.  1-9.  Jacob  sent  to  Paddan-aram  to  marry  a  kins- 
woman.    Esau  takes  another  wife,  an  Ishmaelite  (P1). 

2.  Paddan-aram.     See  on  xxv.  20. 

Bethuel  thy  mother's  father  .  .  .  Laban  thy  mother's 
brother.  According  to  the  Priestly  Document,  see  on  xxv.  20, 
there  was  no  close  relationship  between  Bethuel  and  Isaac. 

1  Cf.  on  xxvii.  46. 


28o  GENESIS  28.  3-10.     PJE 

3  brother.  And  God  Almighty  bless  thee,  and  make  thee 
fruitful,   and    multiply   thee,    that    thou    mayest    be    a 

4  company  of  peoples ;  and  give  thee  the  blessing  of 
Abraham,  to  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  with  thee ;  that  thou 
mayest  inherit  the  land  of  thy  sojournings,  which  God 

5  gave  unto  Abraham.  And  Isaac  sent  away  Jacob  :  and 
he  went  to  Paddan-aram  unto  Laban,  son  of  Bethuel  the 
Syrian,    the   brother   of  Rebekah,    Jacob's   and    Esau's 

6  mother.  Now  Esau  saw  that  Isaac  had  blessed  Jacob 
and  sent  him  away  to  Paddan-aram,  to  take  him  a  wife 
from  thence;  and  that  as  he  blessed  him  he  gave  him 
a  charge,  saying,   Thou   shalt  not   take  a  wife  of  the 

7  daughters  of  Canaan  ;  and  that  Jacob  obeyed  his  father 
S  and  his  mother,  and  was  gone  to   Paddan-aram  :    and 

Esau  saw  that  the  daughters  of  Canaan  pleased  not  Isaac 
9  his  father  •  and  Esau  went  unto  Ishmael,  and  took  unto 
the  wives  which  he  had  Mahalath  the  daughter  of 
Ishmael  Abraham's  son,  the  sister  of  Nebaioth,  to  be 
his  wife. 

10      [JE]  And  Jacob  went  out  from  Beer-sheba,  and  went 

3.  God  Almighty  :  Heb.  El  Shaddai.     See  on  xvii.  1. 

bless  thee.  Here  the  blessing  is  given  in  a  natural,  straight- 
forward, legitimate  way,  in  terms  similar  to  the  previous  blessings 
on  Abraham  and  Isaac. 

9.  Mahalath.     Cf.  on  xxvi.  34  and  xxxvi.  3.    In  2  Chron.  xi.  18 
Rehoboam    marries   a   Mahalath,   the    daughter   of    David's   son 
Jerimoth.     The  name  does  not  occur  elsewhere. 
Nebaioth.     See  on  xxv.  13. 

xxviii.  10-22.     Jacob  at  Beth-el  (JE). 

xxviii.  10.     Jacob  leaves  Beer-sheba  for  Haran. 

xxviii.  11-15.  Resting  for  the  night  he  dreams  of  a  ladder  from 
earth  to  heaven,  with  angels  going  up  and  down  it.  Yahweh 
appears  and  blesses  him. 

xxviii.  16  22.      He  awakes,  and  consecrates  the  stone  he  had 


GENESIS  28.  11-13.     JE  281 

toward  Haran.  And  he  lighted  upon  a  certain  place,  and  11 
tarried  there  all  night,  because  the  sun  was  set  j  and  he 
took  one  of  the  stones  of  the  place,  and  put  it  under  his 
head,  and  lay  down  in  that  place  to  sleep.  And  he  12 
dreamed,  and  behold  a  ladder  set  up  on  the  earth,  and 
the  top  of  it  reached  to  heaven :  and  behold  the  angels 
of  God  ascending  and  descending  on  it.     And,  behold,  13 

used  for  a  pillow  as  a  sacred  pillar  ;  he  calls  the  place  Beth-el, 
1  House  of  God  ' ;  and  promises  that  if  Yahweh  will  bring  him  safe 
home  again  he  will  pay  tithes. 

Sources,  &c.  Here,  as  in  xxvii.  1-45,  there  are  traces  of  both 
the  Elohistic  and  Primitive  Documents,  e.  g.  '  God '  in  verses  12, 
20,  Yahweh  in  verses  13,  16,  21  ;  butithe  exact  division  between 
the  two  cannot  be  certainly  determined,  and  it  has  been  thought 
best  not  to  indicate  it  in  the  text. 

No  doubt  this  narrative  was  preserved  at  the  great  Israelite 
sanctuary  of  Beth-el,  for  whose  priests  the  most  important  lesson 
of  the  chapter  was  their  right  to  receive  tithes  from  Jacob's 
descendants.  The  patriarch's  example  was  recorded  as  a  precedent 
binding  on  the  nation  that  traced  its  descent  to  him.  But  for  us 
the  story  has  deeper  spiritual  lessons,  that  have  appealed  through- 
out the  ages  to  men's  hearts  and  consciences.  The  picture  of  the 
vision  of  God  and  heaven  coming  to  the  lonely  wanderer  in  his 
dreams  has  constantly  suggested  the  nearness  and  the  reality  of 
the  Divine  Presence. 

The  reader  may  notice  that  neither  in  the  words  of  Jacob  nor 
in  the  Divine  utterance  is  there  any  reference  to  the  fact  that 
Jacob's  flight  was  due  to  the  gross  deceit  he  had  recently  practised. 
Perhaps  this  story  of  Jacob's  dream  was  originally  independent 
of  the  preceding  narratives. 

11.  a  certain  place :  Heb.  '  the  place,'  perhaps '  the  sanctuary,' 
cf.  xii.  6. 

one  of  the  stones  of  the  place :  perhaps  the  '  place '  is 
thought  of  a  circle  of  sacred  stones,  one  of  which  Jacob  takes  for 
his  pillow.  It  is  implied  that  the  patriarch  did  not  know  that  the 
place  on  which  he  had  '  lighted '  was  holy  ;  this  is  revealed  to  him 
by  the  vision,  verse  17. 

12.  a  ladder.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  dream  was 
suggested  by  the  appearance  of  the  hill  of  Beth-el,  which  is  some- 
thing like  a  huge  flight  of  steps.  The  holy  place  affords  an 
opportunity  of  communication  between  earth  and  heaven  ;  it  is  the 
•gate  of  heaven,'  verse  17. 

13.  Cf.  xii.  7,  xv.  7. 


282  GENESIS  28.  14-18.     JE 

the  Lord  stood  above  it,  and  said,  I  am  the  Lord,  the 
God  of  Abraham  thy  father,  and  the  God  of  Isaac :  the 
land  whereon  thou  liest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy 

14  seed ;  and  thy  seed  shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and 
thou  shalt  spread  abroad  to  the  west,  and  to  the  east, 
and  to  the  north,  and  to  the  south  :  and  in  thee  and  in 
thy  seed  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed. 

15  And,  behold,  I  am  with  thee,  and  will  keep  thee  whither- 
soever thou  goest,  and  will  bring  thee  again  into  this 
land  ;   for  I  will  not  leave  thee,  until  I  have  done  that 

16  which  I  have  spoken  to  thee  of.  And  Jacob  awaked  out 
of  his  sleep,  and  he  said,  Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place 5 

17  and  I  knew  it  not.  And  he  was  afraid,  and  said,  How 
dreadful  is  this  place  !    this  is  none  other  but  the  house 

18  of  God,  and  this  is  the  gate  of  heaven.  And  Jacob  rose 
up  early  in  the  morning,  and  took  the  stone  that  he  had 
put  under  his  head,  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar,  and  poured 

above  it :  R.  V.  marg.  l.  beside  him.' 
14.  Cf.  xiii.  14-17,  xii.  3. 

spread  abroad :  R.  V.  marg.  '  break  forth.' 

16.  the  LORD  is  in  this  place. 

17.  this  is  none  other  but  the  house  of  God.  These  two 
equivalent  clauses  are  recognitions  that  the  place  was  a  sanctuary; 
the  former  comes  from  J,  '  Yahweh,'  the  latter  from  E,  f  God.' 

18.  set  it  up  for  a  pillar.  The  pillar  (niaffeba)  or  sacred 
stone  was  part  of  the  apparatus  of  a  sanctuary  in  early  times  both 
in  Israel  and  elsewhere,  and  was  a  relic  of  an  earlier  time  when 
the  stone  itself  was  the  sanctuary,  or  even  the  object  of  worship, 
the  abode  of  the  deity.  The  worship  of  sacred  stones  was 
a  common  feature  in  many  primitive  religions.  Even  here  it  is  on 
the  stone  that  Jacob  pours  out  his  libation  of  oil,  verse  18  ;  and  it 
is  the  stone  which  is  to  be  God's  house  (verse  20).  According  to 
early  tradition  two  sacred  stones  were  preserved  in  the  Ark.  At 
Mecca,  in  the  central  sanctuary  of  Islam,  the  most  venerable 
object  is  a  sacred  black  stone. 

Until  towards  the  close  of  the  Jewish  monarchy  these  sacred 
ma$;cbas  were  regarded  as  perfectly  legitimate ;  thus  Moses 
erects  an  altar  and  twelve  macftkas  at  Sinai,  Exod.  xxiv.  4,  E  ;  and 
Joshua  sets  up  *a  great  stone'  in  the  sanctuary  of  Yahweh  at 


GENESIS  28.  19-22.     JE'  283 

oil  upon  the  top  of  it.     And  he  called  the  name  of  that  19 
place  Beth-el :  but  the  name  of  the  city  was  Luz  at  the 
first.     And  Jacob  vowed  a  vow,  saying,  If  God  will  be  20 
with  me,  and  will  keep  me  in  this  way  that  I  go,  and  will 
give  me  bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  21 
I  come  again  to  my  father's  house  in  peace,  then  shall 
the  Lord  be  my  God,  and  this  stone,  which   I  have  22 
set  up  for  a  pillar,  shall  be  God's  house :    and  of  all 

Shechem,  and  says  of  it,  'This  stone  shall  be  a  witness  against 
us ;  for  it  hath  heard  all  the  words  of  Yahweh  which  he  spake 
unto  us,'  Joshua  xxiv.  27,  E. 

19.  Beth-el  (i.  e.  'the  house  of  God ')  .  .  .  Luz.  See  on  xii.  8, 
and  cf.  xxxv.  9-15. 

20.  If  God  will  be  with  me :  i.  e.  if  God  will  keep  the  promise 
made  in  the  vision,  verses  13-15. 

21.  so  that  I  come  again  to  my  father's  house  in  peace.  It 
is  implied  that  this  condition  was  fulfilled  ;  hence,  if  we  are  to 
treat  this  section  as  continuous  with  xxvii.  1-45  we  must  take 
1  father's  house '  in  a  loose  sense  for  Canaan.  We  should  gather 
from  xxvii.  41  that  Isaac  died  long  before  Jacob  returned.  In 
xxxiii.  18  we  read  that  '  Jacob  came  in  peace ]  to  the  city  of 
Shechem '  ;  but  perhaps  we  have  here  another  indication  that  this 
story  was  not  originally  the  continuation  of  that  concerning  the 
blessing  obtained  by  fraud. 

The  statements  that  Jacob  left  Paddan-aram  to  go  to  Isaac, 
xxxi.  18,  and  that  he  came  to  Isaac  at  Mamre,  xxxv.  27,  belong  to 
the  Priestly  Document. 

then  shall  the  LOBB  be  my  God :  sometimes  regarded  as 
a  later  addition,  but  it  is  simpler  to  render  with  R.  V.  marg.  'and 
[if]  Yahweh  will  be  my  God,  then  this  stone.' 

22.  this  stone  .  .  .  shall  be  God's  house :  sometimes  explained 
as  meaning  that  Jacob  would  build  a  temple  there — in  xxxv.  7,  E, 
he  builds  an  altar  at  Beth-el— or  that  the  stone  should  be  the  foun- 
dation of  the  temple.  But  no  doubt  in  the  original  it  meant  that 
the  stone  was  the  seat  of  a  supernatural  presence  or  influence, 
and  would  be  reverenced  as  such.  At  the  same  time  it  is  certain 
that  the  actual  compilers  of  the  Pentateuch  held  no  such  belief, 
and  probably  they  did  not  so  understand  the  words,  but  read  and 
copied  them  as  a  loose  and  figurative  expression,  to  be  interpreted 
as  has  been  suggested  at  the  beginning  of  this  note. 

1  But  R.V.  marg.  '  to  Shalem  '  for  ( in  peace.' 


284  GENESIS  29.  i.     JEE 

that   thou  shalt   give   me   I  will   surely  give  the  tenth 
unto  thee. 

20      [E]  Then  Jacob  went  on  his  journey,  and  came  to  the 

I  will  surely  gfive  the  tenth  unto  thee.  There  is  a  childlike 
simplicity  about  the  wording  of  this  vow,  read  as  part  of  the 
personal  history  of  Jacob  ;  to  give  back  to  God  a  tenth  of  what 
God  gave  him  would  have  been  an  excellent  bargain  for  the 
patriarch.  But  the  verses  are  really  written  from  the'  point  of 
view  of  the  priests  of  the  sanctuary  at  Beth-el  ;  and  mean  that  the 
pious  Israelite  ought  to  devote  a  tenth  of  his  income  to  the  mainten- 
ance of  that  sanctuary  and  its  priesthood.  Perhaps  the  priests 
thought  of  Jacob  as  devoting  a  tenth  of  his  property  to  building 
the  original  sanctuary,  and  providing  it  with  lands  which  would 
serve  as  an  endowment.  We  do  not  read  of  Jacob  fulfilling  this 
part  of  his  vow.    Cf.  xiv.  20. 

xxix,  xxx.  Jacob's  Sojourn  at  Haran.  (Compiled  from  J, 
E,  and  P.) 

xxix.  1.  (E)  Jacob  journeys  to  the  land  of  the  Children  of  the 
East. 

xxix.  2-14.  (J)  Jacob  reaches  Haran,  meets  Rachel  at  the  well, 
and  is  hospitably  received  by  Laban. 

xxix.  15-23.  CJE)  Jacob  serves  Laban  seven  years  for  Rachel, 
but  is  given  Leah  instead. 

xxix.  24.  (P)  Laban  gives  Zilpah  to  Leah. 

xxix.  25-28  rt1.  CJE)  Laban  proposes  that  Jacob  shall  serve 
another  seven  years  for  Rachel. 

xxix.  28  b,  29.  (P)  Laban  gives  Rachel  to  Jacob,  and  Bilhah 
to  Rachel. 

xxix.  30.   (JE^i  Jacob  serves  another  seven  years  for  Rachel. 

xxix.  31-35.   (J)  Leah  bears  Reuben,  Simeon,  Levi,  and  Judah 

xxx.  1-3.  (JE)  Rachel  gives  her  maid  Bilhah  to  Jacob. 

xxx.  4  a2.  (P)  Rachel  gives  her  maid  Bilhah  to  Jacob. 

xxx.  4  63-8.   (JE)  Bilhah  bears  Dan  and  Naphtali. 

xxx.  9-13.  (JE)  Leah  gives  Zilpah  to  Jacob  ;  Zilpah  bears  Gad 
and  Asher. 

xxx.  14-20.  i  JE)  Reuben  finds  mandrakes,  Leah  purchases 
with  them  Jacob's  society,  and  bears  Issachar  and  Zebulun. 

xxx.  21,  22  «4.  (P)  Leah  bears  Dinah,  God  remembers  Rachel. 

1  As  far  as  '  her  week.'  2  As  far  as  '  to  wife.' 

3  From  'and  Jacob.'  *  As  far  as  '  Rachel.' 


GENESIS  29.  2.     EJ  285 

land  of  the  children  of  the  east.     [J]  And  he  looked,  and  2 
behold  a  well  in  the  field,  and,  lo,  three  flocks  of  sheep 


xxx.  22  h  '-24.  (JE)  Rachel  bears  Joseph. 

xxx.  25-43.  (JE)  Jacob  wishes  to  return  to  Canaan,  but  agrees 
to  continue  to  serve  Laban  for  a  portion  of  the  increase  of  the 
flock.  By  various  devices  Jacob  arranges  that  his  share  of  this 
increase  shall  be  the  more  valuable. 

Sources,  &c.  This  section  shows  the  usual  signs  of  compila- 
tion from  different  documents,  e.g.  Yahweh  in  xxix.  31-35,  &c, 
God  in  xxx.  17-23.  Certain  clauses  are  commonly  ascribed  to  the 
Priestly  Document,  but  '  The  decomposition  of  the  combined 
stories  of  J  and  E  is  sometimes  matter  of  the  utmost  difficulty,  as 
the  texture  is  often  extremely  closely  knit,  even  where  it  is 
practically  certain  that  two  sources  have  been  united  .  .  .  the 
justification  of  [any  particular  analysis]  sometimes  depends  on 
considerations  which  must  be  differently  estimated  by  different 
students2.'  Hence  in  this  section,  for  the  most  part,  only  the 
combined  story  is  given. 

The  reader  will  notice  the  similarity  between  the  story  of  Jacob 
and  Rachel  at  the  well,  xxix.  1-14,  and  the  stories  of  Eliezer  and 
Rebekah,  xxiv.  1-32,  and  Moses  and  the  daughters  of  Jethro, 
Exod.  ii.  15-21. 

In  these  chapters,  as  in  the  poems  in  xxvii,  we  are  reading  not 
of  individuals  but  of  tribes.  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  there 
were  individuals,  Jacob,  Rachel,  Joseph,  &c.  after  whom  tribes 
were  named,  just  as  towns,  territories,  states,  and  religious  de- 
nominations have  been  named  after  individuals,  e.  g.  Constantinople 
after  Constantine,  the  state  and  the  territory  of  Washington  in 
the  United  States,  Bolivia  after  Bolivar,  Christians  after  Christ. 
None  of  these,  however,  are  very  exact  parallels.  Again,  portions 
of  the  narratives  are  not  tribal  history,  but  accounts  of  personal 
experiences  which  may  very  well  have  happened  to  individuals, 
Jacob,  &c.  But  most  of  the  names  of  the  twelve  patriarchs  only 
occur  in  history  as  names  of  tribes,  and  it  is  commonly  held  that 
they  were  originally  names  of  tribes,  and  that  the  twelve  patri- 
archs, for  the  most  part  at  any  rate,  are  eponymous  ancestors s. 

Thus  then  this  section,  like  ch.  x,  is  mostly  held  to  be  tribal 
history,  describing  the  relations  of  tribes,  blended  no  doubt  with 
familiar  personal  experiences.  But  after  the  lapse  of  millenniums 
history,  written  after  this  fashion,  becomes  an  enigma  which  is 
very  difficult  to  solve.  The  following  exposition  therefore  must 
simply  be  regarded  as  a  specimen  of  several  possible  alternative 

1  From  '  and  God.'  2  Oxford  Hexateuch. 

3  See  notes  on  the  several  names. 


286  GENESIS  29.  3.     J 

lying  there  by  it ;  for  out  of  that  well  they  watered  the 

flocks :  and  the  stone  upon  the  well's  mouth  was  great. 

3  And  thither  were  all  the  flocks  gathered  :  and  they  rolled 

the  stone  from  the  well's  mouth,  and  watered  the  sheep, 

interpretations  ;  an  example  of  the  kind  of  information  which  these 
chapters  were  intended  to  give. 

The  meaning  of  the  section,  therefore,  is  sometimes  supposed  to 
have  been  somewhat  as  follows  :  Jacob  is  an  Arab  tribe  wandering 
in  Canaan  ;  through  a  quarrel  with  Edom,  Jacob  migrated  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Haran,  and  formed  a  federation  with  the 
Aramaean  clans  of  Rachel,  Bilhah,  Leah,  and  Zilpah.  The  fusion 
of  Rachel  and  Jacob  was  so  close  as  to  constitute  a  new  tribe 
Joseph1,  the  name  Jacob  being  transferred  to  the  federation. 
The  other  federated  clans  in  time  became  divided  up  into  new 
clans,  or  in  some  instances  fresh  clans  joined  the  federation,  and 
were  reckoned  as  sub-clans  of  one  of  the  four  main  groups.  Thus, 
to  use  the  genealogical  language,  Leah  had  six  sons,  Reuben, 
Simeon,  Levi,  Judah,  Issachar,  and  Zebulun,  i.  e.  the  great  sub- 
division of  the  alliance  known  as  Leah  came  to  comprise  these 
clans ;  and  so  Zilpah  had  two  sons,  Gad  and  Asher  ;  Bilhah  had 
two  sons,  Dan  and  Naphtali.  The  term  8  concubine '  applied  to 
Bilhah  and  Zilpah  implies  that  these  tribes  and  their  subdivisions 
were  at  first  less  influential  members  of  the  federation,  or  perhaps 
only  loosely  connected  with  it.  The  history  dealt  with  in  these 
chapters  refers  partly  to  the  period  before  the  conquest  of  Canaan 
and  partly  to  the  conquest  itself,  and  the  subsequent  settlement 
in  the  Promised  Land.  If,  however,  Bilhah  is  a  form  of  the  name 
of  the  Horite  clan  Bilhan,  the  tribe  was  originally  Horite,  or 
perhaps  partly  Horite  and  partly  Edomite,  and  became  absorbed 
in  Israel.     Cf.  xxxvi.  5,  27. 

But  whatever  tribal  history  may  be  involved  in  these  chapters 
is  now  set  in  the  framework  of  a  personal  story.  Probably  long 
before  the  Pentateuch  was  completed  the  Jews  read  it  as  such  ; 
and  we  may  follow  their  example,  and  enjoy  the  graphic  narrative, 
profit  by  its  teaching,  and  learn  something  of  the  manners  and 
ideas  of  ancient  Israel.  Cf.  also  note  on  the  twelve  tribes 
on  xxxv.  22-26. 

1.  went  011  his  journey:  i.e.  'continued  his  journey,'  Heb. 
'lifted  up  his  feet.' 

the  land  of  the  children  of  the  east:  i.e.  the  land  east  and 
north-east  of  Palestine.  In  P,  Jacob's  destination  is  Paddan-aram, 
xxviii.  5,  in  J,  Haran,  xxviii.  10. 

1  See  note  on  Joseph. 


GENESIS  29.  4-13.     J  287 

and  put  the  stone  again  upon  the  well's  mouth  in  its 
place.    And  Jacob  said  unto  them,  My  brethren,  whence   4 
be  ye  ?     And  they  said,  Of  Haran  are  we.     And  he  said   5 
unto  them,  Know  ye  Laban  the  son  of  Nahor  ?  And  they 
said,  We  know  him.     And  he  said  unto  them,  Is  it  well  6 
with   him  ?   And   they  said,    It   is   well  :    and,    behold, 
Rachel  his  daughter  cometh  with  the  sheep.     And  he  7 
said,  Lo,  it  is  yet  high  day,  neither  is  it  time  that  the 
cattle  should  be  gathered  together :  water  ye  the  sheep, 
and  go  and  feed  them.     And  they  said,  We  cannot,  until   8 
all  the  flocks  be  gathered  together,  and  they  roll  the  stone 
from  the  well's  mouth  ;  then  we  water  the  sheep.     While  9 
he  yet  spake  with  them,  Rachel  came  with  her  father's 
sheep ;  for  she  kept  them.     And  it  came  to  pass,  when  ro 
Jacob  saw  Rachel  the  daughter  of  Laban  his  mother's 
brother,  and  the  sheep  of  Laban  his  mother's  brother, 
that  Jacob  went  near,  and  rolled  the  stone  from  the 
well's  mouth,  and  watered  the  flock  of  Laban  his  mother's 
brother.     And  Jacob  kissed  Rachel,  and  lifted  up  his  11 
voice,  and  wept.     And  Jacob  told  Rachel  that  he  was  12 
her  father's  brother,  and  that  he  was  Rebekah's  son  :  and 
she  ran  and  told  her  father.     And  it  came  to  pass,  when  13 
Laban  heard  the  tidings  of  Jacob  his  sister's  son,  that  he 
ran  to  meet  him,  and  embraced  him,  and  kissed  him, 
and  brought  him  to  his  house.     And  he  told  Laban  all 

5.  Laban  the   son  of  Nahor.     According  to  the  genealogies 
I  Laban  was  the  grandson  of  Nahor  ;  '  son  '  here  =  descendant. 

6.  Rachel  =  '  ewe.'  It  has  been  suggested  that  an  ewe  was 
originally  the  totem  of  the  Rachel  tribe.  Rachel  was  perhaps 
the  name  of  an  Aramaean  tribe  which  became  absorbed  in  Israel ; 
the  story  of  course  thinks  of  an  individual,  cf.  above. 

*7.  go  and  feed  them:  so  that  Jacob  might  have  a  private 
interview  with  Rachel. 

11.  lifted  up  his  voice,  and  wept :  i.  e.  i  cried  aloud,'  after  the 
demonstrative  fashion  of  the  Oriental. 

13.  ran  to  meet  him.     Cf.  xxiv.  29. 


288  GENESIS  29.  14-25.     JJEPJE 

14  these  things.    [JE]  And  Laban  said  to  him,  Surely  thou 
art  my  bone  and  my  flesh.     And  he  abode  with  him  the 

15  space  of  a  month.    And  Laban  said  unto  Jacob,  Because 
thou  art  my  brother,  shouldest  thou  therefore  serve  me 

16  for  nought?  tell  me,  what  shall  thy  wages  be?     And  La- 
ban had  two  daughters  :  the  name  of  the  elder  was  Leah, 

17  and  the  name  of  the  younger  was  Rachel.     And  Leah's 
eyes  were  tender;   but  Rachel  was  beautiful  and  well 

18  favoured.     And  Jacob  loved  Rachel  ]  and  he  said,  I  will 
serve  thee  seven  years  for  Rachel  thy  younger  daughter. 

19  And  Laban  said,  It  is  better  that  I  give  her  to  thee,  than 
that  I  should  give  her  to  another  man :  abide  with  me. 

20  And  Jacob  served  seven  years  for  Rachel ;   and  they 
seemed  unto  him  but  a  few  days,  for  the  love  he  had  to 

21  her.     And  Jacob  said  unto  Laban,  Give  me  my  wife,  for 

22  my  days  are  fulfilled,  that  I  may  go  in  unto  her.     And 
Laban  gathered  together  all  the  men  of  the  place,  and 

23  made  a  feast.     And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  evening,  that 
he  took  Leah  his  daughter,  and  brought  her  to  him;  and 

24  he  went  in  unto  her.     [P]  And  Laban  gave  Zilpah  his 
handmaid  unto  his  daughter  Leah  for  an  handmaid. 

25  [  JE]  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  morning  that,  behold,  it 

16.  Leah:  sometimes  explained  as  meaning 'wild-cow,' which 
animal  is  then  regarded  as  the  totem  of  the  Leah  tribe  ;  others 
connect  Leah  with  a  similar  Assyrian  word  meaning  '  lady ' ; 
cf.  above,  p.  287. 

17.  tender:  i.e.  weak,  < without  brightness  or  brilliancy  of 
lustre1.' 

18.  seven  years  for  Rachel :  as  the  equivalent  of  the  mohar 
or  price  paid  for  a  wife. 

23.  he  took  Leah  .  .  .  and  brought  her  to  him.  The  bride 
would  be  veiled,  it  was  dark,  and  it  was  the  evening  of  a  great 
feast,  so  that  Jacob  did  not  find  out  the  deception  till  the  morning. 

24.  (P)  Zilpah.  Origin  and  meaning  of  name  unknown,  cf. 
above,  p.  287. 

1  Dillmann. 


GENESIS  29.  26-32,     JEPJEJ  289 

was  Leah  :  and  he  said  to  Laban,  What  is  this  thou  hast 
done  unto  me?  did  not  I  serve  with  thee  for  Rachel? 
wherefore  then  hast  thou  beguiled  me  ?  And  Laban  said,  26 
It  is  not  so  done  in  our  place,  to  give  the  younger  before 
the  firstborn.     Fulfil  the  week  of  this  one,  and  we  will  27 
give  thee  the  other  also  for  the  service  which  thou  shalt 
serve  with  me  yet  seven  other  years.     And  Jacob  did  so,  28 
and  fulfilled  her  week :  [P]  and  he  gave  him  Rachel  his 
daughter   to   wife.      And    Laban    gave   to   Rachel    his  29 
daughter   Bilhah   his   handmaid   to   be   her  handmaid. 
[JE]  And  he  went  in  also  unto  Rachel,  and  he  loved  30 
also  Rachel  more  than  Leah,  and  served  with  him  yet 
seven  other  years. 

[J]  And  the  Lord  saw  that  Leah  was  hated,  and  he  31 
opened  her  womb :  but  Rachel  was  barren.    And  Leah  32 
conceived,  and   bare  a  son,  and   she  called  his  name 
Reuben :   for  she  said,  Because  the  Lord  hath  looked 

26.  Mention  is  made  ot  a  similar  custom  in  India  and  elsewhere. 

27.  Fulfil  the  week,  &c.  At  the  end  of  a  week  specially  devoted 
to  Leah,  Jacob  married  Rachel,  and  paid  for  her  by  seven  more 
years'  work  for  Laban. 

29.  (P)  Bilhah.  Meaning  and  origin  ol  name  unknown,  cf. 
above,  p.  285. 

32.  Reuben.  The  Primitive  Document  explains  this  name  as 
meaning  hath  looked  upon  my  affliction,  ra'ah  be'onyl,  an  im- 
possible etymology.  Perhaps  in  the  second  half  of  the  verse,  my 
husband  will  love  me,  we  have  a  corruption  of  the  Elohistic 
etymology;  'will  love  me'  =  ye'ehabani.  Josephus,  Antiquities, 
I.  xix.  7,  states  that  the  word  meant,  '  It  had  happened  to  her  ac- 
cording to  the  compassion  of  God,'  i.  e.  EL  The  spelling  and  vowels 
of  the  Hebrew  text  suggest  the  meaning  re\i  ben,  '  behold  a  son.' 
But  Josephus,  the  Syriac,  and  some  other  versions  give  the  name 
as  Ronbelos  or  Rubil.  The  origin  cf  the  name  in  either  form  is 
unknown,  and  the  number  of  theories  is  in  proportion  to  the  lack 
of  information.  The  Reubel  form  has  been  explained  as  ■  seen  or 
cared  for  by  Bel,'  and  again  as  equivalent  to  the  Arabic  ri'bat, 
wolf. 

Reuben  as  the  firstborn  must  have  been  an  important  tribe  in 

U 


290  GENESIS  29.  33-35.     J 

upon  my  affliction;  for  now  my  husband  will  love  me. 

3  3  And  she  conceived  again,  and  bare  a  son ;   and  said, 

Because  the  Lord  hath  heard  that  I  am  hated,  he  hath 

therefore  given  me  this  son  also  :  and  she  called  his  name 

34  Simeon.  And  she  conceived  again,  and  bare  a  son ;  and 
said,  Now  this  time  will  my  husband  be  joined  unto  me, 
because  I  have  borne  him  three  sons :  therefore  was  his 

35  name  called  Levi.     And  she  conceived  again,  and  bare 

early  times ;  Num.  xvi,  JE,  may  be  a  reminiscence  of  an  attempt 
of  Reuben  as  premier  tribe  to  assert  its  claims  against  Moses. 
At  the  Conquest  Reuben  is  located  between  the  Jabbok  and  the 
Arnon,  in  the  midst  of  the  territory  of  Gad ;  and  is  found  there 
in  the  time  of  Deborah,  Judges  v„  15,  16.  After  this  the  tribe 
seems  to  have  suffered  some  great  disaster,  and  practically  dis- 
appears from  history.     Cf.  on  xxx.  14,  xxxv,  22,  xlix.  3P. 

33.  Simeon.  The  name  Shimon  suggested  the  Hebrew  verb 
shamci,  '  heard,'  hence  the  etymology,  because  the  LOUD  hath 
heard.  There  is  no  very  probable  explanation  of  the  name,  it  issome- 
times  connected  with  the  Arabic  sam',  a  hybrid  between  a  hyaena 
and  a  wolf,  a  view  which  receives  some  support  from  the  possibility 
that  Reuben  should  be  read  as  Reubel  and  interpreted  as  '  Wolf.' 
The  position  of  the  tribe  in  the  genealogy  shows  that  it  was  im- 
portant in  early  times,  and  this  would  be  illustrated  by  references 
in  Egyptian  and  cuneiform  authorities,  if  we  could  be  sure  that 
the  names  cited  were  equivalent  to  Simeon.  The  cities  of  Simeon 
were  in  the  territory  of  Judah5  as  those  of  Reuben  were  in  the 
territory  of  Gad  ;  and  Simeon  too  suffered  some  reverse  soon 
after  the  Conquest,  after  which  it  practically  disappeared  from 
history,  cf.  on  xxxiv,  xlix.  5-7. 

34.  Levi.  The  name  suggested  the  Hebrew  verb  lavah,  'joined,' 
hence  the  etymology,  Now  .  .  .  will  my  husband  he  joined 
unto  me.  Levi,  however,  is  strictly  the  term  for  a  member  of  a 
tribe,  *  Levite ' ;  or,  if  taken  collectively,  for  the  members, '  Levites.' 
It  is  commonly  regarded  as  the  adjective  corresponding  to  Leah, 
so  that  Levi  would  mean  '  a  member  of  the  Leah  tribe.'  If  so  we 
may  suppose  that  the  Leah  tribe  became  several  tribes,  parti}7  by 
subdivision,  partly  by  the  incorporation  of  new  members  ;  and 
that  a  section  of  the  original  tribe  simply  retained  the  old  name 
in  its  gentilic  or  adjectival  form,  and  called  themselves  par  excellence 

1  See  the  Author's  articles  on  Reuben  in  Dr.  Hastings'  Bible 
Dictionary. 


GENESIS  30.  i-6.     J  JE  P  JE  291 

a  son  :  and  she  said,  This  time  will  I  praise  the  Lord  : 
therefore  she  called  his  name  Judah ;  and  she  left  bearing. 

[JE]  And  when  Rachel  saw  that  she  bare  Jacob  no  30 
children,  Rachel  envied  her  sister;   and  she  said  unto 
Jacob,  Give  me  children,  or  else  I  die.     And  Jacob's   2 
anger  was  kindled  against  Rachel :  and  he  said,  Am  I  in 
God's  stead,  who  hath  withheld  from  thee  the  fruit  of  the 
womb?  And  she  said,  Behold  my  maid  Bilhah,  go  in   3 
unto  her ;  that  she  may  bear  upon  my  knees,  and  I  also 
may  obtain  children  by  her.     [P]  And  she  gave  him   4 
Bilhah  her  handmaid  to  wife :  [  JE]  and  Jacob  went  in 
unto  her.     And  Bilhah  conceived,  and  bare  Jacob  a  son.   5 
And  Rachel  said,  God  hath  judged  me,  and  hath  also  6 

*  the  Levites.'  There  are  parallel  cases  where  two  forms  of  a 
proper  name  come  to  have  different  meanings,  for  instance, 
'Frank'  is  only  a  corruption  of  French/  but  Frank  in  the  East 
stands  for  Europeans  generally,  of  whom  the  French  are  only 
one  section.  If  so  the  Levites  originally  were  the  most  powerful 
and  distinguished  of  the  Leah  tribes,  but  they  also  suffered  a  great 
disaster  in  early  times,  and  Levite  later  on  means  first  a  priest, 
and  then  an  assistant  to  the  priests.  It  is  not  certain  what  is  the 
historical  connexion,  if  any,  between  the  secular  tribe  Levi  and 
the  sacerdotal  Levites,  cf.  xxxiv,  xlix.  5-7. 

35.  Judah.  The  Hebrew  name  Yehudah  suggested  the  verb 
hodah,  l  praised,'  hence  the  etymology,  I  will  praise  the  LORD. 
The  real  origin  of  the  name  and  the  early  history  of  the  tribe  is  un- 
certain. It  is  not  referred  to  in  the  Song  of  Deborah ;  but  appears 
elsewhere  in  Judges x  in  the  south  of  Palestine.     Cf.  on  xxxviii. 

xxx.  3.  bear  upon  my  knees,  a  symbolic  act  by  which  Rachel 
adopts  Bilhah's  children  as  her  own  so  that  she  may  obtain 
children  by  her,  Heb.  'be  builded  by  her'  ;  so  in  1.  23  Joseph's 
great-grandchildren,  the  children  of  Manasseh's  son  Machir,  'were 
born  upon  Joseph's  knees,'  a  special  recognition  of  their  legi- 
timacy 2.  It  is  suggested  that  children  were  born  upon  the  knees 
of  the  father  in  recognition  of  legitimacy,  cf.  Job  iii.  12,  '  Why 
did  the  knees  receive  me  ?3' 

1  i,  x.  9,  xv-xxi.  2  Cf.  note  on  this  verse. 

3  Stade  ap.  Holzinger. 

U    2 


292  GENESIS  30.  7-13.     JE 

heard  my  voice,  and  hath  given  me  a  son :  therefore 

7  called  she  his  name  Dan.     And  Bilhah  Rachel's  hand- 
maid conceived  again,  and  bare  Jacob  a  second  son. 

8  And  Rachel  said,  With  mighty  wrestlings  have  I  wrestled 
with  my  sister,  and  have  prevailed :  and  she  called  his 

9  name   Naphtali.     When   Leah   saw   that   she   had   left 
bearing,  she  took  Zilpah  her  handmaid,  and  gave  her  to 

10  Jacob  to  wife.     And  Zilpah  Leah's  handmaid  bare  Jacob 

11  a  son.     And  Leah  said,  Fortunate!  and  she  called  his 

12  name  Gad.     And  Zilpah  Leah's  handmaid  bare  Jacob  a 

13  second  son.     And   Leah  said,   Happy  am   I !    for  the 

6.  Ban,  a  name  which  might  be  read  as  a  Hebrew  verb,  '  he 
judged/  hence  the  etymology,  G-od  ha.th  judged  me.  Dan  is  often 
supposed  to  have  been  originally  the  name  of  a  deity,  a  view  also 
held  with  regard  to  Gad  and  Asher.  The  connexion  of  Dan  and 
Naphtali,  through  Bilhah,  with  Rachel,  groups  Dan  with  Joseph. 
The  tribe  is  found  partly  to  the  west  of  Ephraim,  and  partly  in 
the  extreme  north.     Cf.  on  Dinah,  xxx.  21. 

8.  Naphtali.  The  name  suggested  the  Hebrew  verb  niphtal, 
Mie  wrestled/  hence  the  etymology,  with  mighty  wrestling's 
(Heb.  '  wrestlings  of  God  ')  have  I  wrestled.  The  origin  of  the 
name  is  unknown.  Naphtali  is  prominent  in  the  Song  of 
Deborah,  Judges  v.  18.     Cf.  above  on  Dan.     See  also  Ps.  Ixviii.  27. 

11.  Gad,  R.V.  marg.  '  that  is,  Fortune/  hence  the  etymology, 
Leah  said,  fortunate!  R.V.  marg.  'With  Fortune.'  But  Gad 
occurs  in  Isa.  Ixv.  11  as  the  name  of  a  deity,  also  in  the  names 
Baal-gad  \  and  Migdal-gad  2.  Gad  was  a  well-known  Syrian  deity, 
the  god  of  fortune.  The  margin  of  the  Hebrew  text  gives  the 
alternative  reading,  'Gad  comes.'  The  statement  that  Gad  and 
Asher  were  sons  of  Zilpah,  Leah's  handmaid,  implies  an  early 
connexion  of  the  two  tribes  with  each  other,  and  also  a  connexion 
between  them  and  the  Leah  tribes.  Since  Gad  and  Asher  were 
widely  separated  in  the  final  settlement  of  the  twelve  tribes  in 
Canaan,  this  connexion  and  the  tradition  concerning  it  must  date 
back  to  the  early  days  of  the  Conquest,  or  perhaps  even  to  the 
nomad  life  of  the  tribes  before  the  Conquest.  Gad  settled  east  of 
Jordan,  and  was  for  some  time  a  powerful  tribe.  The  Gadites 
are  mentioned  in  the  inscription  of  Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  the 
contemporary  of  Ahab,  where  nothing  is  said  of  Reuben. 

1  Joshua  xi.  17.  2  Joshua  xv.  37. 


GENESIS  30.  i4,  15.     JE  293 

daughters  will  call  me  happy :  and  she  called  his  name 
Asher.     And  Reuben  went  in  the  days  of  wheat  harvest,  14 
and  found  mandrakes  in  the  field,  and  brought  them 
unto  his   mother  Leah.     Then   Rachel  said   to   Leah, 
Give  me,  I  pray  thee,  of  thy  son's  mandrakes.     And  she  15 
said  unto  her,  Is  it  a  small  matter  that  thou  hast  taken 

13.  Asher.  The  name  suggested  the  Hebrew  verb  'to  call 
happy ' ;  hence  the  etymology,  Happy  am  1 1  for  the  daughters 
■will  call  me  happy.  The  Hebrew  for  'Happy  am  I!'  is  more 
literally  'With  my  happiness,'  which  resembles  both  in  sense 
and  construction  the  exclamation  as  to  Asher's  brother  Gad. 
Asher  has  been  supposed  to  be  '  a  god  of  good  fortune '  like  Gad  ; 
and  the  similarity  of  name  might  suggest  a  connexion  with  the 
Assyrian  god  Asshur ;  but  any  such  connexion  is  improbable. 
A  name  Aseru,  which  may  be  equivalent  to  Asher,  is  found  in 
Western  Galilee  in  Egyptian  inscriptions  of  the  time  of  Rameses 
II  and  earlier.  In  many  popular  handbooks  Rameses  II  is 
given  as  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Oppression.  If  Aseru  is  Asher 
either  Rameses  II  is  not  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Oppression,  and  the 
Oppression  and  the  Exodus  must  be  placed  much  earlier;  or 
Asher  was  the  ancient  name  of  a  district  in  Canaan,  and  after 
the  Conquest  this  ancient  local  name  was  adopted  by  an  Israelite 
tribe  ;  or  the  tribe  of  Asher  was  not  involved  in  the  Oppression 
and  the  Exodus,  but  was  permanently  settled  in  Canaan  at  an 
earlier  date.  Asher  is  mentioned  in  the  Song  of  Deborah, 
Judges  v.  17,  but  plays  no  part,  as  a  separate  tribe,  in  the  later 
history.     Cf.  the  previous  note  on  Gad. 

14.  Benben  .  .  .  found  mandrakes,  R.  V.  marg.  '  loveapples.' 
The  mandrake  or  loveapple  had  a  yellow  fruit,  about  the  size 
and  shape  of  a  plum,  and  was  supposed  to  promote  conception. 
Mandrakes  have  always  been  credited  with  magic  properties. 
Probably  in  the  original  form  of  the  story  Rachel  conceived 
through  the  help  of  the  mandrakes ;  but  this  seemed  to  the  more 
enlightened  editors  of  later  days  a  piece  of  heathen  superstition. 
Hence  it  was  omitted,  and  there  is  no  sequel  to  Rachel's  ac- 
quisition of  the  mandrakes,  as  far  as  she  is  concerned.  We  read 
instead  in  verse  22  the  more  seemly  statement  of  the  Elohist, 
'God  opened  her  womb.'  Reuben  probably  appears  in  this 
incident  because  he  was  the  eldest  son  ;  but  it  is  noteworthy  that 
the  original  for  mandrakes  is  duda'im,  and  from  the  Mesha 
inscription \  we  learn  that  the  Gadites  worshipped  a  deity  Dndah  ; 
and  the  Reubenite  cities  lay  in  the  midst  of  the  territory  of  Gad. 


1  See  above,  the  note  on  '  Gad.' 


294  GENESIS  30.  16-21.     JE  P 

away  my  husband?   and  wouldest  thou  take  away  my 
son's  mandrakes  also?  And  Rachel  said,  Therefore  he 

16  shall  lie  with  thee  to-night  for  thy  son's  mandrakes.  And 
Jacob  came  from  the  field  in  the  evening,  and  Leah  went 
out  to  meet  him,  and  said,  Thou  must  come  in  unto  me ; 
for  I  have  surely  hired  thee  with  my  son's  mandrakes. 

17  And  he  lay  with  her  that  night.  And  God  hearkened 
unto  Leah,  and  she  conceived,  and  bare  Jacob  a  fifth 

18  son.  And  Leah  said,  God  hath  given  me  my  hire, 
because  I  gave  my  handmaid  to  my  husband :  and  she 

19  called  his  name  Issachar.     And  Leah  conceived  again, 

20  and  bare  a  sixth  son  to  Jacob.  And  Leah  said,  God 
hath  endowed  me  with  a  good  dowry ;  now  will  my 
husband  dwell  with  me,  because  I  have  borne  him  six 

21  sons:    and   she   called   his    name   Zebulun.      [P]    And 

18.  Issachar.  The  name  suggested  the  Hebrew  word  sachar, 
1  hire.'  Hence  the  etymology,  God  hath  given  me  my  hire.  The 
name  to  a  Hebrew  reader  might  seem  to  mean  '  Man  of  hire,'  or 
'  There  is  hire.'  The  actual  meaning  and  origin  of  the  name  are 
quite  uncertain.  The  statement  that  Issachar  and  Zebulun  were 
brothers  corresponds  to  the  fact  that  their  territories  were 
conterminous.  As  '  sons '  of  Leah  they  were  understood  to  be 
connected  in  ancient  times  with  the  other  Leah  tribes.  Issachar 
and  Zebulun  took  a  leading  part  in  the  defeat  of  Sisera1;  these 
two  do  not  afterwards  appear  in  history  as  separate  tribes 2. 

19.  Zebulun.  In  this  verse  the  editor  has  set  side  by  side  two 
explanations  of  the  name,  doubtless  one  from  each  of  his  tw& 
sources  J  and  E.  The  first,  which  uses  the  Divine  name,  'God,' 
will  be  from  E.  '  God  hath-endowed-me  ?  (ZBDNy)  '  with  a  good 
dowry'  (ZBD).  The  'dowry'  will  be  her  six  sons.  The  root 
ZBD  is  an  element  in  many  Hebrew  names  Zabad,  Zabud,  Zebudah, 
Zabdi,  &c.  This  explanation  suggests  that  in  E  the  name  was 
Zebulun.  The  other  explanation,  which  doubtless  comes  from  J,  is 
'  now  will  my  husband  dwell  with  me';  '  will  .  .  .  dwell  with  me ' 
translates  yZBLNy,  from  the  root  ZBL,  sometimes,  as  in  E.V.  here, 
taken  to  mean  'dwell,' but  more  often  rendered  'honour.'  This 
root  is  probably  found  in  Baalzebul,  God  of  Ekron3,   of  which 

1  See  the- Song  of  Deborah,  Judges  v.  14-18. 

3  Cf.  however  Ps.  lxviii.  27.  *  2  Kings  i. 


GENESIS  30.  22-24.     PJE  295 

afterwards  she  bare  a  daughter,  and  called  her  name 
Dinah.     And  God  remembered  Rachel,  [JEj  and  God  22 
hearkened  to  her,  and  opened  her  womb.     And  she  con-  23 
ceived,  and  bare  a  son :  and  said,  God  hath  taken  away 
my  reproach :  and  she  called  his  name  Joseph,  saying,  24 
The  Lord  add  to  me  another  son. 

Baalzebub  and  Beelzebub  are  corruptions.  If  so  Baal-zebul 
would  mean  '  Lord  of  the  High  House'  or  'Temple,'  a  title 
which  might  very  well  be  borne  by  other  deities  beside  the  God 
of  Ekron,  and  possibly  Zebulun  may  be  connected  with  some  such 
divine  name.  Zebulun,  in  this  case,  would  originally  be  the  name 
of  the  district,  and  would  only  be  assumed  by  the  tribe  after  its 
settlement  in  Canaan.  Note  that  Zebulun  is  the  latest  born  of 
the  'sons'  of  Leah,  i.e.  possibly  the  last  member  added  to  the 
confederation  of  Leah  tribes.     Cf.  on  Issachar. 

21.  We  have  followed  some  recent  critics  in  giving  this  verse 
to  P,  but  there  is  considerable  difference  of  opinion  on  this  head, 
others  assign  it  to  J  and  E.  Even  if  it  comes  in  its  present  form 
from  P  it  doubtless  rests  on  some  older  source.  In  P  the  father 
usually  gives  the  name.  But  this  verse,  in  which  the  child  is 
a  daughter  and  the  name  is  left  without  any  explanation,  hardly 
belongs  to  the  same  sources  as  those  from  which  the  births  of  the 
sons  are  taken.  It  may  be  an  editorial  addition  suggested  by 
xxxiv  (which  see). 

Dinah:  doubtless  an  ancient  tribe  of  Israel,  which  disappeared 
early  in  the  history ;  the  similarity  of  Dan  and  Dinah  suggests 
some  connexion  between  the  two.  As  Dan  is  a  son  of  Bilhah, 
Rachel's  handmaid,  and  Dinah  is  a  daughter  of  Leah,  it  is  possible 
that  the  tribe  divided  itself  into  two  sections  in  early  times,  one 
of  which  associated  itself  with  Bilhah  and  the  other  with  the 
Leah,  especially  with  Simeon  and  Levi,  as  we  gather  from  xxxiv 
(which  see).    Cf.  on  Dan,  xxx.  6. 

22.  Cf.  on  verse  14. 

23.  hath  taken  away  my  reproach :  i.  e.  the  reproach  of  being 
a  childless  woman,  far  greater  in  the  ancient  East  than  it  is  with 
us.  Cf.  the  account  in  I  Sam.  i.  6  of  Peninnah's  insolent  nagging 
of  her  childless  co- wife  Hannah  :  '  Her  rival,'  Peninnah,  'provoked 
her,'  Hannah,  '  sore,  for  to  make  her  fret,  because  Yahweh  had  shut 
up  her  womb.' 

24.  Joseph.  Here  again  the  editor  has  set  side  by  side  two 
explanations  of  the  name,  one  in  the  previous  verse,  from  E,  with 
the  Divine  name  'God/  G-od  hath-taken-away  (aSaPh)  my 
reproach;  a  second  in  this  verse,  from  J,  with  the  Divine  name 
Yahweh,  Yahweh  add  (YoSePh)  to  me   another  son.     Forms 


296  GENESIS  30.  25-30.     JE 

25  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Rachel  had  borne  Joseph, 
that  Jacob  said  unto  Laban,  Send  me  away,  that  I  may 

26  go  unto  mine  own  place,  and  to  my  country.  Give  me 
my  wives  and  my  children  for  whom  I  have  served  thee, 
and  let  me  go :  for  thou  knowest  my  service  wherewith 

27  I  have  served  thee.  And  Laban  said  unto  him,  If  now 
I  have  Found  favour  in  thine  eyes,  tarry :  for  I  have 
divined  that  the  Lord  hath  blessed  me  for  thy  sake. 

28  And  he  said,  Appoint  me  thy  wages,  and  I  will  give  it. 

29  And  he  said  unto  him,  Thou  knowest  how  I  have  served 

30  thee,  and  how  thy  cattle  hath  fared  with  me.  For  it  was 
little  which  thou  hadst  before  I  came,  and  it  hath  in- 
creased unto  a  multitude;  and  the  Lord  hath  blessed 

which  have  been  read  as  Joseph-el  have  been  found  (a)  as  the 
name  of  a  place  in  Palestine  in  an  Eg3*ptian  inscription  of 
Thothmes  III  (about  sixteenth  century  b.  c.\  and  (b)  as  the  name 
of  a  person  in  cuneiform  inscriptions.  Hence  Joseph  may  be 
a  contraction  of  Joseph-el,  perhaps  = '  El  (God)  will  add.'  Cf.  on 
Jacob,  xxv.  26. 

Joseph  seems  at  one  time  to  have  been  the  name  of  the  group 
of  Northern  Tribes,  or  even  of  the  whole  people.  If  so  it  ranks 
with  Jacob  and  Israel  rather  than  with  the  rest  of  the  Twelve 
Patriarchs1.  At  the  same  time  the  stories  told  later  on  of  Joseph 
cannot  merely  relate  to  the  tribe,  but  must,  in  part  at  any  rate, 
refer  to  an  individual. 

25.  when  Rachel  had  borne  Joseph.  The  narrative  implies 
that  Jacob  had  now  completed  the  seven  years  he  had  promised 
to  serve  for  Rachel.  According  to  the  previous  narrative  Leah 
had  in  the  interval  borne  seven 2  children,  and  had  had  an  interval 
of  barrenness,  xxix.  35,  xxx.  9,  16. 

27.  divined:  ascertained  by  magic  divination,  like  Joseph 
xliv.  5,  15. 

hath  blessed  me  for  thy  sake.  It  is  implied  that  Laban 's 
flocks  and  herds  had  multiplied  with  exceptional  rapidity  under 
Jacob's  care,  so  verse  29  f.  ;  this  has  not  been  stated  before  as 
the  story  now  stands,  but  perhaps  some  reference  to  it  has  been 
omitted  by  an  editor. 

30.  increased,  Heb.  '  broken  forth.' 

1  Cf.  above,  p.  285,  and  see  also  on  chapter  xxxvii  ff . 
3  Verses  20,  21,  or  possibly  six,  see  note  on  verse  21. 


GENESIS  30.  31,32.     JE  297 

thee  whithersoever  I  turned:  and  now  when  shall  I 
provide  for  mine  own  house  also?  And  he  said,  What  31 
shall  I  give  thee  ?  And  Jacob  said,  Thou  shalt  not  give 
me  aught :  if  thou  wilt  do  this  thing  for  me,  I  will  again 
feed  thy  flock  and  keep  it.  I  will  pass  through  all  thy  32 
flock  to-day,  removing  from  thence  every  speckled  and 
spotted  one,  and  every  black  one  among  the  sheep,  and 

■whithersoever  I  turned  :  Heb.  { at  my  foot,'  in  opposition  to 
'before  I  came,'  so  we  might  render  'as  a  consequence  of  my 
coming1 '. 

31.  if  thou  wilt  do  this  thing1  for  me.  In  this  bargaining  we 
have  the  second  stage  of  the  attempts  of  Jacob  and  Laban  to 
outwit  one  another.  In  the  first  bout,  in  the  matter  of  Rachel 
and  Leah,  Laban  had  won,  now  it  is  Jacob's  turn.  As  Laban 
stands  for  the  Sj'rians,  we  have  here  a  parallel  to  the  long 
struggle  between  Israel  and  the  Syrians  of  Damascus  in  the  days 
of  the  Divided  Monarchy. 

32.  speckled  and  spotted  .  .  .  and  black  .  .  .  sheep  .  .  . 
spotted  and  speckled  .  .  .  goats.  Verses  31-43  are  very  difficult 
as  they  stand.  In  verse  31  Jacob  says,  'Thou  shalt  not  give  me 
aught,'  but  in  verse  32  he  proposes  to  remove  the  spotted  and 
speckled  from  Laban's  flock  and  transfer  them,  as  it  seems,  to  his 
own  ;  so,  apparently,  also  in  verse  35.  But,  again,  in  verse  40  '  the 
ringstraked  and  the  black'  are  still  in  Laban's  flocks.  Again,  the 
description  of  Jacob's  share  differs  in  verses  32  f.  and  35  ;  and  in 
xxxi.  7  f.  there  are  said  to  have  been  ten  different  bargains,  one  of 
which  gave  the  speckled  and  another  the  ringstraked  to  Jacob.  In 
fact  the  story  as  it  now  stands  is  in  hopeless  confusion  as  to  its 
details  ;  partly,  of  course,  because  it  has  been  made  up  from  two 
or  more  sources  ;  partly,  no  doubt,  through  editorial  omissions, 
additions,  and  other  alterations  ;  and  partly,  probably,  through 
mistakes  in  copying. 

There  seem  to  have  been  two  versions  of  the  bargain,  one  gave 
Jacob  the  animals  that  were  speckled,  &c,  and  their  offspring  ; 
the  other  simply  gave  him  the  offspring  that  were  speckled,  &c. 
It  is  not  possible  now  to  disentangle  the  two  accounts  with  any 
certainty ;  but  the  main  idea  is  clear.  The  speckled  and  spotted 
animals  and  the  black  sheep  are  the  less  common,  of  which  there 
would  be  few,  and  in  asking  for  them  Jacob  seems  to  be  asking 
for  a  trifling  reward,  which,  however,  he  converts  into  a  very 
large  one,  by  his  own  craftiness  according  to  verses  37-43,  by 

1  Cf .  Ball's  Genesis  in  Sacred  Books  of  the  Old  Testament. 


298  GENESIS  30.  33-37.     JE 

the  spotted  and  speckled  among  the  goats :  and  of  such 

33  shall  be  my  hire.  So  shall  my  righteousness  answer  for 
me  hereafter,  when  thou  shalt  come  concerning  my  hire 
that  is  before  thee :  every  one  that  is  not  speckled  and 
spotted  among  the  goats,  and  black  among  the  sheep, 

34  that  if  found  with  me  shall  be  counted  stolen.  And 
Laban  said,  Behold,  I  would  it  might  be  according  to 

35  thy  word.  And  he  removed  that  day  the  he-goats  that 
were  ringstraked  and  spotted,  and  all  the  she-goats  that 
were  speckled  and  spotted,  every  one  that  had  white  in 
it,  and  all  the  black  ones  among  the  sheep,  and  gave 

36  them  into  the  hand  of  his  sons ;  and  he  set  three  days' 
journey  betwixt  himself  and  Jacob :  and  Jacob  fed  the 

37  rest  of  Laban's  flocks.  And  Jacob  took  him  rods  of 
fresh  poplar,  and  of  the  almond  and  of  the  plane  tree ; 

the  blessing  of  God  according  to  xxxi.  7-1 1.  Probabty  Jacob 
would  not  have  seen  any  inconsistency  between  the  two  state- 
ments. 

33.  So  shall  my  righteousness  answer  for  me,  &c.  The 
wording  of  the  English  faithfully  reproduces  the  obscurity  of  the 
original.  The  general  sense,  however,  is  obvious.  According 
to  this  arrangement  Jacob's  innocence  or  guilt  would  be  manifest. 
He  was  to  have  the  animals  coloured  in  one  way,  Laban  those 
coloured  in  another  ;  if  Jacob  had  any  of  the  wrong  colour  it 
would  be  plain  that  he  had  broken  the  agreement.  The  frank 
expression  of  the  mutual  suspicion  of  the  brothers-in-law  is  very 
striking. 

34.  I  would  it  might  be,  &c.  A  courteous  assent ;  this  contest 
of  sharp  wits  is  conducted  according  to  the  forms  of  polite 
etiquette. 

35.  ringstraked,  '  striped.'  The  word  does  not  seem  to  occur 
elsewhere1  in  English  literature2.1 

every  one  that  had  white  in  it,  i.  e.  only  a  small  proportion. 

37.  poplar,  R.  V.    marg.    '  storax    tree.'     The   storax    'is   the 

Styrax  officinalis,  a  showy  shrub   covered   with   a   profusion    of 

1  i.  e.  outside  the  Authorised  and  Revised  Versions,  and  quotations 
and  references  to  these  versions. 
3  Hastings'  Bible  Dictionary, 


GENESIS  30.  38-42.     JE  299 

and  peeled  white  strakes  in  them,  and  made  the  white 
appear  which  was  in  the  rods.     And  he  set  the  rods  38 
which  he   had   peeled  over   against   the  flocks   in   the 
gutters  in  the  watering  troughs  where  the  flocks  came  to 
drink;   and  they  conceived  when  they  came  to  drink. 
And  the  flocks  conceived  before  the  rods,  and  the  flocks  39 
brought  forth  ringstraked,  speckled,  and  spotted.     And  4c 
Jacob   separated  the  lambs,  and  set  the  faces  of  the 
flocks  toward  the  ringstraked  and  all  the  black  in  the 
flock  of  Laban ;  and  he  put  his  own  droves  apart,  and 
put  them  not  unto  Laban's  flock.     And  it  came  to  pass,  41 
whensoever  the  stronger  of  the  flock  did  conceive,  that 
Jacob  laid  the  rods  before  the  eyes  of  the  flock  in  the 
gutters,  that  they  might  conceive  among  the  rods ;  but  42 

white    flowers'  which    exudes    a   gum    used    for    incense  and 
medicinal  purposes l. 
strakes,  stripes. 

37-39.  Jacob  prepared  rods  which  presented  the  appearance 
of  the  colouring  and  marking  of  the  animals  which  were  to  belong 
to  him.  These  he  set  before  the  ewes  at  the  moment  of  con- 
ception. The  impression  of  the  image  of  this  colouring  on  the 
minds  of  the  ewes  is  supposed  to  have  caused  them  to  bring  forth 
offspring  coloured  in  the  same  fashion,  cf.  verse  40. 

38.  in  the  gutters  in  the  watering1  troughs,  '  gutters '  and 
'watering  troughs' have  the  same  meaning  in  the  original,  and 
one  of  the  two  words  should  be  omitted. 

40.  set  the  faces  of  the  flocks,  &c.  This  sentence  is  in- 
consistent with  verse  35  f.,  according  to  which  Laban  had  already 
removed  the  animals  with  exceptional  colouring  three  days' 
journey  from  the  flocks  tended  by  Jacob.  We  have  therefore 
here  a  fragment  of  an  account  alternative  to  that  in  verses  35-38. 
In  this  second  form  of  the  narrative  Jacob  impresses  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  ewes  by  the  sight  of  animals  coloured  as  he  wished 
their  offspring  to  be.  Perhaps  in  verse  38  the  two  synonymous 
clauses  '  in  the  gutters,'  '  in  the  watering  troughs '  are  taken  from 
the  two  sources. 

41,  42.  Jacob  does  not  always  use  his  device  for  getting  lambs 
and  kids  which  would  belong  to  him.     Obviously  if  all  the  lambs 

1  Encycl.  Biblica. 


300  i     GENESIS  30.  43—31.  5.     JE 

when  the  flock  were  feeble,  he  put  them  not  in  :  so  the 
43  feebler  were  Laban's,  and  the  stronger  Jacob's.  And 
the  man  increased  exceedingly,  and  had  large  flocks,  and 
maidservants  and  menservants,  and  camels  and  asses. 
31  And  he  heard  the  words  of  Laban's  sons,  saying, 
Jacob  hath  taken  away  all  that  was  our  father's ;  and  of 
that  which  was  our  father's  hath  he  gotten  all  this  glory. 

2  And    Jacob   beheld   the   countenance   of  Laban,    and, 

3  behold,  it  was  not  toward  him  as  beforetime.  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Jacob,  Return  unto  the  land  of  thy 
fathers,  and  to  thy  kindred;   and  I  will  be  with  thee. 

4  And  Jacob  sent  and  called  Rachel  and  Leah  to  the  field 

5  unto  his  flock,  and  said  unto  them,  I  see  your  father's 

and  kids  had   been  coloured   to  suit  Jacob,  Laban's   suspicions 
would  have  been  aroused. 

xxxi.  1 — xxxii.  2.  Jacob's  Return  to  Canaan.  (An  Elohistic 
narrative  with  additions.) 

xxx.  i-iSa1,  (mostly  E).  Jacob  proposes  to  return  to  Canaan, 
Rachel  and  Leah  consent. 

xxxi.  18  b 2,  (P)  Jacob  leaves  Paddan-aram  to  return  to  Isaac. 

xxxi.  19-42  (mostly  E).  Jacob  flees,  Laban  pursues  and 
overtakes  him.  Rachel  having  stolen  the  family  teraphim,  Laban 
charges  Jacob  with  the  theft,  and  searches  his  tents.  Rachel 
succeeds  in  hiding  them.     Jacob  upbraids  Laban. 

xxxi.  43-50  (mostly  J).  Jacob  and  Laban  make  a  covenant  at 
Gilead. 

xxxi.  51-55  (E).     Jacob  and  Laban  make  a  covenant. 

xxxii.  1,  2  (E).  Jacob  continues  his  journey  and  meets  angels  at 
Mahanaim. 

Sources,  &c.  Cf.  on  xxix,  xxx,  of  which  this  is  a  continuation. 
Here  the  main  narrative  is  from  the  Elohistic  Document,  witness 
the  frequent  occurrence  of  '  God,'  but  a  verse  has  been  inserted 
from  P,  and  clauses  from  J.  The  latter  show  that  J  had  a  very 
similar  story  to  E. 

1.  glory,  R.  V.  marg.  'wealth.' 

2.  it  was  not  toward  Mm,  &c,  not  so  friendly  as  it  used  to  be. 

1  As  far  as  '  cattle.'  2  From  '  and  all  his  substance.' 


GENESIS  31.  6-13.     JE  301 

countenance,  that  it  is  not  toward  me  as  beforetime; 
but  the  God  of  my  father  hath  been  with  me.     And  ye   6 
know  that  with  all  my  power  I  have  served  your  father. 
And  your  father  hath  deceived  me,  and  changed  my    7 
wages  ten  times ;  but  God  suffered  him  not  to  hurt  me. 
It  he  said  thus,  The  speckled  shall  be  thy  wages ;  then   8 
all  the  flock  bare  speckled  :  and  if  he  said  thus,  The  ring- 
straked  shall  be  thy  wages ;  then  bare  all  the  flock  ring- 
straked.     Thus  God  hath  taken  away  the  cattle  of  your  9 
father,  and  given  them  to  me.     And  it  came  to  pass  at  10 
the  time  that  the  flock  conceived,  that  I  lifted  up  mine 
eyes,  and  saw  in  a  dream,  and,  behold,  the  he-goats  which 
leaped  upon  the  flock  were  ringstraked,  speckled,  and 
grisled.     And  the  angel  of  God  said  unto  me  in  the  n 
dream,  Jacob :  and  I  said,  Here  am  I.     And  he  said,  12 
Lift  up  now  thine  eyes,  and  see,  all  the  he-goats  which 
leap   upon   the    flock   are    ringstraked,    speckled,    and 
grisled  :  for  I  have  seen  all  that  Laban  doeth  unto  thee. 
I  am  the  God  of  Beth-el,  where  thou  anointedst  a  pillar,  13 
where  thou  vowedst  a  vow  unto  me :  now  arise,  get  thee 
out  from  this  land,  and  return  unto  the  land  of  thy 


7.  ten  times.  Perhaps  the  original  story  has  been  abbreviated. 
Jacob's  indignation  at  Laban's  deceit  is  the  classic  example  of  the 
way  in  which  men  denounce  in  others  the  vices  which  they  them- 
selves practice. 

9.  God  hath  taken  away,  cf.  above,  p.  298. 

10.  I  .  .  .  saw  in  a  dream.  Jacob's  speech  refers  mostly  to 
matters  not  hitherto  mentioned.  Perhaps  there  were  references 
to  them  in  the  original  E,  which  have  been  omitted  by  one  of  the 
editors.  One  can  hardly  suppose  that  the  Elohist  intended  us 
to  understand  that  the  statements  as  to  Laban's  deceit  and  this 
dream  were  'pious'  frauds  on  the  part  of  Jacob;  though  the 
incidents  connected  with  the  Blessing  show  that  Jacob  was  quite 
capable  of  such  mendacity. 

12.  grisled,  i.  e.  grey,  the  Hebrew  word  means  'spotted.' 

13.  Cf.  xxvni.  13  ff. 


302  GENESIS  31.  i4-2o.     JEPJE 

14  nativity.  And  Rachel  and  Leah  answered  and  said  unto 
him,  Is  there  yet  any  portion  or  inheritance  for  us  in 

15  our  father's  house?  Are  we  not  counted  of  him  strangers? 
for  he  hath  sold  us,  and  .hath  also  quite  devoured  our 

16  money.  For  all  the  riches  which  God  hath  taken  away 
from  our  father,  that  is  ours  and  our  children's :   now 

17  then,  whatsoever  God  hath  said  unto  thee,  do.  Then 
Jacob  rose  up,  and  set  his  sons  and  his  wives  upon  the 

18  camels ;  and  he  carried  away  all  his  cattle,  [P]  and  all 
his  substance  which  he  had  gathered,  the  cattle  of  his 
getting,  which  he  had  gathered  in  Paddan-aram,  for 
to   go  to   Isaac  his   father   unto   the  land  of   Canaan. 

19  [  JE]   Now  Laban  was  gone  to  shear  his  sheep :   and 

20  Rachel  stole  the  teraphim  that  were  her  father's.  And 
Jacob  stole  away  unawares  to  Laban  the  Syrian,  in  that 

15.  otir  money,  lit.  '  the  price  paid  for  us.' 

18.  (P)  to  Isaac  his  father,  according  to  the  other  documents 
Isaac  must  have  been  dead,  cf.  on  xxviii.  21. 

19.  teraphim,  spoken  of  as  'my  gods'  verse  30,  'thy  gods' 
verse  32.  The  exact  character  of  these  '  teraphim  '  or  '  teraphs '  is 
not  certain.  They  were  some  sort  of  religious  symbols,  according 
to  many  scholars  domestic  idols,  more  or  less  roughly  in  human 
form.  In  1  Sam.  xix.  15,  16,  when  David  flees  from  his  house, 
Michal  puts  the  teraphim.  in  his  bed,  and  makes  it  up  to  look  like 
a  human  figure.  In  Hosea  iii.  4  the  teraphim  are  reckoned  as 
part  of  the  legitimate  apparatus  of  religion.  There  were  teraphim 
in  Micah's  sanctuary  and  that  at  Dan1.  In  1  Sam.  xv.  23  it  is 
implied  that  teraphim  were  a  wicked  superstition.  This  passage 
in  Samuel  is  sometimes  ascribed  to  the  Elohist,  to  whom  the 
references  to  the  teraphim  here  belong.  The  meaning  of  our 
story  here  is  that  the  teraphim  were  not  a  legitimate  Israelite 
institution,  but  a  superstition  imported  from  Syria.  This  idea  is 
further  worked  out  in  other  Elohistic  passages.  In  xxxv.  2-4 
Jacob  makes  his  household  bury  the  strange  gods  they  have,  a 
clear  reference  to  this  passage,  and  in  Joshua  xxiv.  15,  23  Joshua 
addresses  similar  admonitions  to  the  Israelites. 

20.  stole  away  unawares :  R.  V.  marg.  Heb.  '  stole  the  heart 

1  Judges  xvii.  f. 


GENESIS  31.  21-25.     JE  303 

he  told  him  not  that  he  fled.     So  he  fled  with  all  that  21 
he  had ;  and  he  rose  up,  and  passed  over  the  River,  and 
set  his  face  toward  the  mountain  of  Gilead. 

And  it  was  told  Laban  on  the  third  day  that  Jacob  22 
was  fled.     And   he   took  his   brethren  with   him,    and  23 
pursued  after  him  seven  days'  journey ;  and  he  overtook 
him  in  the  mountain  of  Gilead.     And  God  came  to  24 
Laban  the  Syrian  in  a  dream  of  the  night,  and  said  unto 
him,  Take  heed  to  thyself  that  thou  speak  not  to  Jacob 
either  good  or  bad.     And  Laban  came  up  with  Jacob.  25 
Now  Jacob  had  pitched  his  tent  in  the  mountain :  and 

of;    but  the  word   translated   'heart'  is  also   used   for  'mind, 
intelligence' ;  we  might  translate  'outwitted.' 

21.  the  River:  Euphrates. 

Gilead:  a  term  used  in  various  senses — for  the  whole  or 
part  of  the  Israelite  territory  east  of  Jordan,  especially  for  the 
district  assigned  to  Gad  ;  and  for  some  particular  place,  mountain, 
or  city  of  that  region.  Here  a  particular  place  seems  referred  to, 
since  verses  46-55  explain  why  the  name  Gilead  was  given  to  a 
certain  heap  or  monument.     See  on  verses  47,  48. 

22.  the  third  day  .  .  .  23.  seven  days'  journey.  This  implies 
that  Jacob,  travelling  'with  all  that  he  had'  (verse  21),  after  he 
had  '  increased  exceedingly,'  and  acquired  'large  flocks,  male  and 
female  slaves,  camels,  and  asses'  (xxx.  43),  made  the  journey  in 
less  than  ten  days.  As  the  distance  from  Haran  to  Gilead  as  the 
crow  flies  is  about  300  miles,  this  feat  is  said  to  be  impossible1. 
It  is  possible,  as  has  been  suggested,  that  the  author  of  these 
verses,  the  Elohist,  placed  Laban's  home  somewhere  nearer  to 
Gilead. 

24.  Cf.  xx.  3. 

speak  not  .  .  .  either  good  or  bad :  an  emphatic  way  ot 
forbidding  Laban  to  do  or  say  anything,  the  assumption  being  that 
Laban's  intention  was  to  harm  Jacob.  To  Laban  such  conduct 
would  have  seemed  '  good ' — righteous  retribution.  The  LXX 
has  '  speak  no  evil.'     This  is,  of  course,  the  practical  meaning. 

25.  the  mountain.  We  should  naturally  suppose  that  '  the 
mountain  of  Gilead/  the  only  one  in  the  context,  is  intended. 
But  the  form  of  the  verse  suggests  a  difference  between  'the 
mountain'  where  Jacob  pitched  and  'the  mountain   of  Gilead' 

1  Dillmann,  Gunkel,  Holzinger. 


304  GENESIS  31.  26-33.     JE 

Laban  with   his  brethren  pitched   in  the  mountain  of 

26  Gilead.  And  Laban  said  to  Jacob,  What  hast  thou 
done,  that  thou  hast  stolen  away  unawares  to  me,  and 
carried  away  my  daughters  as  captives  of  the  sword? 

27  Wherefore  didst  thou  flee  secretly,  and  steal  away  from 
me  1  and  didst  not  tell  me,  that  I  might  have  sent  thee 
away  with  mirth  and  with  songs,  with  tabret  and  with 

28  harp ;  and  hast  not  suffered  me  to  kiss  my  sons  and  my 

29  daughters  ?  now  hast  thou  done  foolishly.  It  is  in  the 
power  of  my  hand  to  do  you  hurt :  but  the  God  of  your 
father  spake  unto  me  yesternight,  saying,  Take  heed  to 
thyself  that  thou  speak  not  to  Jacob  either  good  or  bad. 

30  And  now,  though  thou  wouldest  needs  be  gone,  because 
thou  sore  longedst  after  thy  father's  house,  yet  wherefore 

31  hast  thou  stolen  my  gods?  And  Jacob  answered  and 
said  to  Laban,  Because  I  was  afraid :  for  I  said,  Lest 
thou  shouldest  take  thy  daughters  from  me  by  force. 

32  With  whomsoever  thou  findest  thy  gods,  he  shall  not 
live  :  before  our  brethren  discern  thou  what  is  thine  with 
me,   and   take   it   to  thee.     For  Jacob  knew  not  that 

33  Rachel  had  stolen  them.  And  Laban  went  into  Jacob's 
tent,  and  into  Leah's  tent,  and  into  the  tent  of  the  two 
maidservants;   but  he  found  them  not.     And  he  went 

occupied  by  Laban.  If  so,  we  cannot  identify  Jacob's  mountain. 
But,  probably,  Jacob's  '  mountain  '  is  Gilead,  and  tbe  awkward 
form  of  the  verse  is  due  to  the  use  of  two  sources. 

29.  in  the  power  of  my  hand  :  i.  e.  in  my  power. 

30.  my  gods  ...     32.  thy  gods.     Cf.  on  verse  19. 

31.  The  answer  to  verses  26-28. 

33.  the  two  maidservants.  Bilhah  and  Zilpah,  Jacob's 
concubines.  The  end  of  the  verse  implies  that  Laban  went 
straight  out  of  Leah's  tent  into  Rachel's,  so  that  we  should  alter 
the  order  of  the  clauses  and  read,  '  Laban  went  into  Jacob's  tent, 
and  into  the  tent  of  the  two  female  slaves,  and  into  Leah's  tent.' 
He  went  to  Jacob's  tent  first,  because  the  women's  quarters,  the 
harem,  would  only  be  entered  in  a  case  of  necessity ;  he  went 


GENESIS  31.  34-40.     JE  305 

out  of  Leah's  tent,  and  entered  into  Rachel's  tent.     Now  34 
Rachel  had  taken  the  teraphim,  and  put  them  in  the 
camel's  furniture,  and  sat  upon  them.     And  Laban  felt 
about  all  the  tent,  but  found  them  not.     And  she  said  35 
to  her  father,  Let  not  my  lord  be  angry  that  I  cannot 
rise  up  before  thee ;  for  the  manner  of  women  is  upon 
me.     And  he  searched,   but   found   not  the  teraphim. 
And  Jacob   was   wroth,   and   chode  with   Laban :    and  36 
Jacob  answered  and  said  to  Laban,  What  is  my  trespass  ? 
what  is  my  sin,  that  thou  hast  hotly  pursued  after  me  ? 
Whereas  thou  hast  felt  about  all  my  stuff,  what  hast  thou  37 
found  of  all  thy  household  stuff?     Set  it  here  before  my 
brethren  and  thy  brethren,  that  they  may  judge  betwixt 
us  two.     This  twenty  years  have  I  been  with  thee ;  thy  38 
ewes  and  thy  she-goats  have  not  cast  their  young,  and 
the  rams  of  thy  flocks  have  I  not  eaten.     That  which  was  39 
torn  of  beasts  I  brought  not  unto  thee ;  I  bare  the  loss 
of  it ;  of  my  hand  didst  thou  require  it,  whether  stolen 
by  day  or  stolen  by  night.     Thus  I  was ;  in  the  day  the  40 

next  to  the  concubines'  tent,  because,  if  he  had  found  the  teraphim 
there,  the  wives  would  have  been  spared  the  annoyance  of  the 
search.  For  a  similar  reason  he  went  last  into  the  tent  of  the 
favourite  wife,  Rachel. 

34.  in  the  camel's  furniture.  The  word1  translated  'fur- 
niture '  only  occurs  here.  The  LXX  renders  it  'saddle,'  but  it  is 
commonly  explained  as  a  palanquin  2,  which  would  be  big  enough 
to  hide  fairly  large  articles. 

39.  In  the  ancient  Israelite  code  3  commonly  called  the  Book 
of  the  Covenant,  and  believed  to  have  been  included  by  the 
Elohist  in  his  work,  it  is  provided 4  that  if  an  animal  in  charge  of 
a  nerdsman  was  torn  in  pieces,  the  herdsman  should  produce  the 
mangled  remains,  and  should  not  be  liable  to  make  good  the  loss. 
Hence,  according  to  our  verse,  Jacob  had  done  more  for  Laban 
than  the  law  required. 

40.  in  the  day  the  drought  .  .  .  the  frost  by  night.     In  hot 

1  Kar,  2  Spurrell  &c.  3  Exod.  xx.  22 — xxiii. 

4  Exod.  xxii.  10-13. 


306  GENESIS  31.  41-47.     JE 

drought  consumed  me,  and  the  frost  by  night ;  and  my 

41  sleep  fled  from  mine  eyes.  These  twenty  years  have  I 
been  in  thy  house ;  I  served  thee  fourteen  years  for  thy 
two  daughters,  and  six  years  for  thy  flock  :  and  thou  hast 

42  changed  my  wages  ten  times.  Except  the  God  of  my 
father,  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  Fear  of  Isaac,  had 
been  with  me,  surely  now  hadst  thou  sent  me  away 
empty.     God  hath  seen  mine  affliction  and  the  labour  of 

43  my  hands,  and  rebuked  thee  yesternight.  And  Laban 
answered  and  said  unto  Jacob,  The  daughters  are  my 
daughters,  and  the  children  are  my  children,  and  the 
flocks  are  my  flocks,  and  all  that  thou  seest  is  mine: 
and  what  can  I  do  this  day  unto  these  my  daughters,  or 

44  unto  their  children  which  they  have  borne  ?  And  now 
come,  let  us  make  a  covenant,  I  and  thou ;  and  let  it  be 

45  for  a  witness  between  me  and  thee.     And  Jacob  took  a 

46  stone,  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar.  And  Jacob  said  unto 
his  brethren,  Gather  stones ;  and  they  took  stones,  and 
made  an  heap :   and  they  did  eat  there  by  the  heap. 

47  And  Laban  called  it  Jegar-sahadutha :  but  Jacob  called 

countries  excessive  heat  in  the  day  may  be  followed  by  severe  cold 
at  night. 

42.  tlie  Pear  of  Isaac.  Cf.  verse  53  and  Isa.  viii.  13.  The 
phrase  means  the  God  whom  Isaac  worshipped,  and  is  a  further 
description  of  '  the  God  of  Abraham.'  The  '  Fear  of  Isaac'  may 
have  been  the  special  title  of  the  deity  worshipped  at  Mizpah  or 
Gilead. 

44.  covenant.     See  on  vi.  18. 

let  it  be  for  a  witness.  A  covenant  would  not  be  a  •  witness.' 
A  slight  difficulty  in  the  Hebrew  construction  suggests  that  some 
words  have  fallen  out  after  'thou,'  perhaps  'and  let  us  make 
a  heap,'  or  'erect  a  pillar.' 

45.  Cf.  on  xxviii.  r8,  E. 

46.  an  heap :  evidently  the  sanctuary  at  Gilead  or  Mizpah 
included  a  sacred  stone-heap,  a  feature  of  some  primitive  cults, 
seldom  however  mentioned  among  the  Israelites,  cf.  verses  47,  48. 

47.  Jeg-ar-sahadntha  .  .  .  Galeed.  The  former,  used  by  Laban 
the  Aramaean,  is  the  Aramaic  phrase,  and  the  latter,  used  by  Jacob 


GENESIS  31.  48, 49.     JE  307 

it  Galeed.     And  Laban  said,  This  heap  is  witness  be-  48 
tween  me  and  thee  this  day.     Therefore  was  the  name 
of  it  called  Galeed :  and  Mizpah,  for  he  said,  The  Lord  4r> 

the  Hebrew,  the  Hebrew  phrase  for  '  Heap  of  Witness.'  In  the 
ancient  manuscripts  only  consonants  were  written,  and  'Galeed  ' 
and  '  Gilead '  were  identical.  This  verse  therefore  shows  that 
there  was  a  stone-heap,  or  sanctuary  with  such  heap,  called  Gilead  ; 
that  this  name  was  explained  as  gal  'ed,  '  Heap  of  Witness ' ;  and 
the  origin  of  the  name  and  the  sanctuary  were  ascribed  to  Jacob 
and  Laban.  This  story  would  probably  be  preserved  at  the 
sanctuary.  In  Joshua  xxii.  34  we  are  told  that  when  the  eastern 
tribes  returned  to  Gilead  after  the  conquest  of  Canaan  they 
erected  an  altar  and  'called  the  altar  Ed1  (i.  e.  "Witness")  ;  for, 
said  they,  it  is  a  witness  between  us  that  Yahweh  is  God.'  In 
this  verse  of  Joshua  we  probably  have  another  etymology  of  Gilead, 
and  another  account  of  the  origin  of  a  sanctuary  with  a  stone-heap, 
here  regarded  as  an  ancient  altar.  But  the  two  passages  can 
hardly  refer  to  the  same  heap.  Verse  52  indicates  that  the 
Genesis  Galeed  was  on  the  border  between  the  territory  of  Israel 
and  of  Syria  ;  the  Joshua  Galeed  was  close  to  the  Jordan 2. 
Heaps,  of  course,  were  common,  and  such  a  title  as  '  Heap  of 
Witness'  might  be  given  to  more  than  one.  But  Gilead,  as  the 
name  of  a  district,  would  probably  have  nothing  to  do  with  '  Heap 
of  Witness  '  ;  its  etymology  is  uncertain,  but  it  is  often  connected 
with  a  similar  Arabic  word,  meaning  '  hard,  rough,'  because  of  the 
uneven  surface  of  Gilead.  The  highest  portion  of  the  hills  of 
Southern  Gilead  is  still  called  Mount  Gilead,  and  possibly  the 
highest  peak,  Mount  Osha,  of  this  Mount  Gilead  is  the  Galeed  of 
Genesis. 

48.  This  second  naming  of  the  heap  points  to  a  second  source. 

49.  Mizpah. :  i.e.  '  the  Watch-tower.'  This  third  naming  of  the 
heap  points  to  a  third  source,  or  to  a  note  added  by  some  editor 
or  copyist,  or  to  a  mistake  made  in  copying.  In  verse  45  Jacob 
set  up  a  pillar,  macceba.  Mizpah  was  written  micpa.  The 
Samaritan-Hebrew  text3  here  reads  macceba  for  micpa.  If  the 
explanation  in  this  verse  referred  to  macceba  it  would  be  quite  as 
appropriate  as  the  explanation  of  Reuben  in  xxix.  32.  The  site 
of  Mizpah  is  unknown,  but  in  Judges  xi.  11  there  is  a  sanctuary 
at  Mizpah  in  Gilead. 

The  LOED  watch,  &c.  :  i.  e.  '  when  we  are  separated,  and 

1  Ed  is  omitted  in  most  Hebrew  MSS.,  but  is  supplied  by  the 
Revisers  from  some  Hebrew  MSS.,  and  the  Syriac.  The  original 
reading  may  have  been  'Galeed.' 

2  Joshua  xxii.  10.  s  See  p.  42. 

X    2 


308  GENESIS  31.  50-54.     JEE 

watch  between  me  and  thee,  when  we  are  absent  one 

50  from  another.  If  thou  shalt  afflict  my  daughters,  and 
if  thou  shalt  take  wives  beside  my  daughters,  no  man 
is  with  us ;   see,  God  is  witness  betwixt  me  and  thee. 

51  [E]  And   Laban  said  to  Jacob,  Behold  this  heap,  and: 
behold  the  pillar,  which  I  have  set  betwixt  me  and  thee. 

52  This  heap  be  witness,  and  the  pillar  be  witness,  that  I 
will  not  pass  over  this  heap  to  thee,  and  that  thou  shalt ; 
not  pass  over  this  heap  and  this  pillar  unto  me,  for  harm. 

53  The  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Nahor,  the  God 
of  their  father,  judge  betwixt  us.     And  Jacob  sware  by 

54  the  Fear  of  his  father  Isaac.     And  Jacob  offered  a  sacri- 

cannot  watch  each  other,  especially  when  I  (Laban  )  cannot  see 
that  you  (Jacob)  do  not  ill-treat  my  daughters,  may  Yahweh  keep 
His  eye  upon  you.'  The  verse  is  an  expression  of  mutual  distrust, 
and  is  singularly  unsuitable  for  an  inscription  of  the  so-called 
Mizpah-rings,  which  are  used  as  tokens  by  separated  friends  and 
lovers. 

absent :  Heb.  '  hidden.' 

52.  This  verse  indicates  that  this  narrative  was  attached  to 
a  bounda^-cairn,  probably  connected  with  a  sanctuary,  on  the 
border  line  between  the  territory  of  Israel  ('Jacob)  and  Syria 
(Laban).  But  our  knowledge  of  the  history  is  not  sufficient  to 
enable  us  to  locate  it. 

53.  the  God  of  their  father,  judge.  This  translation  would 
be  required  by  the  Samaritan-Hebrew1  text,  and  many  of  the 
versions,  and  is  perhaps  a  possible  rendering  of  the  Massoretic- 
Hebrew  x  text.  It  expresses  the  idea  found  elsewhere  in  Genesis, 
and  certainly  that  of  the  final  editor,  that  the  families  of  Abraham 
and  Nahor  were  connected  by  the  common  worship  of  the  same 
deity  who  was  also  the  God  of  their  father  Terah.  But  the  literal 
rendering  of  the  Massoretic- Hebrew  text  is  that  of  R.  V.  marg. 
'  the  gods  .  .  .  judge.'  Moreover,  the  LXX  and  some  Hebrew 
MSS.  omit  the  phrase  '  the  God  of  their  father.'  If  we  adopt  this 
reading,  the  natural  rendering  is  'The  God  of  Abraham  and  the 
God  of  Nahor  judge  (plural^,'  i  e.  the  God  of  Abraham  was  not, 
in  the  primitive  story,  identical  with  the  God  of  Nahor. 

Pear.     See  verse  42. 

54.  A  repetition  of  46  b,  from  a  different  source. 

1  See  p.  42. 


GENESIS  31.  55—32.  3.     EJ  309 

fice  in  the  mountain,  and  called  his  brethren   to  eat 
bread :  and  they  did  eat  bread,  and  tarried  all  night  in 
the  mountain.     And  early  in  the  morning  Laban  rose  55 
up,  and  kissed  his  sons  and  his  daughters,  and  blessed 
them  :  and  Laban  departed,  and  returned  unto  his  place. 
And  Jacob  went  on  his  way,  and  the  angels  of  God  met  32 
him.     And  Jacob  said  when  he  saw  them,  This  is  God's    2 
host :  and  he  called  the  name  of  that  place  Mahanaim. 

[J]  And  Jacob  sent  messengers  before  him  to  Esau  his   3 

xxxii.  1,  2  (E).  The  vision  at  Mahanaim.  This  vision  of  angels 
seen  by  Jacob  as  he  re-enters  the  Promised  Land  is  usually 
compared  to  the  similar  vision  seen  at  Beth-el  just  after  he  had 
left  home ;  and  the  vision  is  interpreted  as  a  pledge  of  Divine 
protection  in  view  of  the  coming  meeting  with  Esau.  But  there 
is  nothing  of  this  in  the  paragraph  itself;  there  is  the  barest 
statement,  and  an  etymology.  Probably  these  two  verses  are 
a  fragment  of  a  longer  story,  and  the  rest  has  been  omitted  as 
unedifying.  It  has  been  suggested l  that  the  complete  story  told 
of  a  conflict  between  Jacob  and  the  'angels,'  similar  to  his 
wrestling  in  xxxii.  24.  The  'messengers  of  Elohim,'  angels  of 
God,  might,  in  the  earliest  form  of  the  story,  be  supernatural 
beings  who  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  God  of  Israel2. 

2.  God's  host  or  '  camp/  mahaneh  Elohim,  is  a  natural 
etymology  of  Mahanaim  ;  another,  equally  natural,  derivation  is 
given  in  verse  10,  where  Jacob  says  he  has  become  '  two  com- 
panies (mahanoth)'  ;  the  form  of  Mahanaim  is  the  dual,  and  it 
might  be  read  as  'two  camps'  or  'companies.'  The  name, 
however,  is  not  generally  held  to  be  a  real  dual,  but  may  be  the 
word  'camp,'  mahaneh,  modified  for  use  as  a  proper  name,  cf. 
'Chester'  from  the  Latin  castra,  camp.  Mahanaim  was  perhaps 
the  most  important  Israelite  city  east  of  the  Jordan  :  it  was  the 
capital  of  Ish-bosheth  ;  and  also  the  head  quarters  of  David  during 
the  revolt  of  Absalom.  Its  site  has  not  been  certainly  determined, 
but  it  must  have  lain  north  of  the  Jabbok.  We  gather  that  there 
was  an  important  sanctuary  at  Mahanaim,  from  which  this  story 
was  derived. 

xxxii.  3 — xxxiii.  17.     Jacob's  Meeting  with  Esau  (J3). 
xxxii.  3-7  a4.     Negotiations  between  Jacob  and  Esau. 

1  Gunkel.  2  Cf.  on  vi.  2. 

3  With  fragments  of  other  sources,  see  below. 

4  As  far  as  l  was  distressed.' 


3io  GENESIS  32.  4,5.     J 

4  brother  unto  the  land  of  Seir,  the  field  of  Edom.  And 
he  commanded  them,  saying,  Thus  shall  ye  say  unto  my 
lord  Esau ;   Thus  saith  thy  servant  Jacob,  I  have  so- 

5  journed  with  Laban,  and  stayed  until  now :  and  I  have 
oxen,  and  asses  a7id  flocks,  and  menservants  and  maid- 
servants :  and  I  have  sent  to  tell  my  lord,  that  I  may 

xxxii.  7#1-I2.  {Perhaps  later  addition  ifi^b-21  belongs  to  J.) 
Jacob  takes  precautions  against  the  anger  of  Esau,  and  prays  for 
the  help  of  Yahweh. 

xxxii.  13  a2.     He  encamps  for  the  night. 

xxxii.  13  b  3-2i.  {Perhaps  Eif  '7  6-12  belongs  to  J.)  Jacob  takes 
precautions  against  the  anger  of  Esau,  and  spends  the  night  at 
Mahanaim4. 

xxxii.  22-32.  Jacob  crosses  the  Jabbok,  and  wrestles  with  a 
supernatural  being  at  Peniel.     His  name  is  changed  to  Israel. 

xxxiii.  1-17.  Meeting  and  reconciliation  of  Jacob  and  Esau. 
They  separate,  Jacob  goes  to  Succoth  and  Esau  to  Mount  Seir. 

Sources,  &c.  The  main  story  seems  to  be  taken  from  the  Primi- 
tive Document  ;  but  there  are  repetitions  which  indicate  the 
presence  of  fragments  of  the  Elohistic  Document  and  of  editorial 
additions.  These  are  so  difficult  to  identify  with  certainty  that 
we  have  not  tried  to  point  them  out  in  the  margin  of  the  text,  but 
have  made  some  reference  to  them  in  the  preceding  analysis  and 
the  following  notes.  Perhaps  E  had  a  meeting  at  Mahanaim  pre- 
ceded by  a  struggle  with  the  '  angels ' ;  J,  at  Peniel,  preceded  by 
the  struggle  with  the  '  man.' 

In  this  story  also  we  have  a  combination  of  the  political  relations 
of  Israel  and  Edom,  their  alternating  wars  and  alliances,  with 
typical  narratives  5,  and  perhaps  reminiscences  of  the  personal 
experiences  of  an  individual  Jacob6.  The  connexion  of  Mahanaim 
or  Peniel  with  the  reconciliation  suggests  that  these  sanctuaries 
were  used  by  both  Edom  and  Israel ;  but  the  distance  from  Edom 
is  a  difficulty. 

3.  Seir.  See  xiv.  6.  The  double  description  the  land  of  Seir, 
the  field  of  Edom  indicates  the  combination  of  two  sources,  a 
phrase  from  each.  Note  that  Esau  or  Edom  is  already  settled  in 
a  land  named  after  him  long  before  there  is  a  land  of  Israel,  i.  e. 
the  tribe  Edom  had  a  settled  home  before  Israel  conquered  Canaan. 

1  From  '  and  he  divided.'  a  As  far  as  '  that  night.' 

3  From  '  and  took.'  4  See  note  on  verse  2 1 . 

5  See  p.  48.  6  See  also  on  xxxii.  28. 


GENESIS  32.  6-1 1.     J  311 

find  grace  in  thy  sight.     And  the  messengers  returned  to   6 
Jacob,  saying,  We  came  to  thy  brother  Esau,  and  more- 
over he  cometh  to  meet  thee,  and  four  hundred  men 
with   him.     Then   Jacob   was   greatly   afraid    and   was    7 
distressed  :  and  he  divided  the  people  that  was  with  him, 
and  the  flocks,  and  the  herds,  and  the  camels,  into  two 
companies ;    and   he   said,    If  Esau   come   to  the  one   8 
company,  and  smite  it,  then  the  company  which  is  left 
shall   escape.     And   Jacob   said,  O  God  of  my   father  9 
Abraham,  and  God  of  my  father  Isaac,  O  Lord,  which 
saidst  unto  me,  Return  unto  thy  country,   and  to  thy 
kindred,  and  I  will  do  thee  good :  I  am  not  worthy  of  10 
the  least  of  all  the  mercies,  and  of  all  the  truth,  which 
thou  hast  shewed  unto  thy  servant;   for  with  my  staff 
I  passed  over  this  Jordan ;  and  now  I  am  become  two 
companies.     Deliver  me,  I  pray  thee,  from  the  hand  of  n 
my  brother,  from  the  hand  of  Esau :  for  I  fear  him,  lest 

5.  find  grace  in  thy  sight :  i.  e. '  conciliate  thee,  win  thy  favour.' 
*7b-13a.  These  verses  are  parallel  to  136-21  ;  each  of  the  two 
paragraphs  describes  Jacob's  preparations  for  the  meeting  with 
Esau.  Moreover,  the  'lodging  at  night'  appears  in  13a  and  21. 
It  is  often  supposed  that  7 6-13  a  comes  from  J  and  136-21  from 
E  ;  but  according  to  others  76-12  is  a  later  addition,  and  136-21 
is  from  J,  and  13a  is  from  E. 

9.  Cf.  xxxi.  3. 

do  thee  good :  give  thee  prosperity. 

10.  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of  all :  R.  V.  marg.  Heb.  *  I 
am  less  than  all.' 

mercies:  rather,  i  tokens  of  love  and  favour.' 

truth  :  rather,  '  faithfulness.' 

two  companies :  Heb.  two  mahanoth,  '  hosts '  or  <  camps,' 
so  in  verses  7  and  8.  Apparently  an  etymology  of  Mahanaim, 
cf.  on  verse  2.  A  difficulty  arises  from  this  Jordan,  which,  like 
verse  22,  suggests  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  river, 
perhaps  the  special  ford  crossed  by  Jacob  when  fleeing  from  home. 
But  other  references  to  Mahanaim  seem  to  show  that  it  was  some 
considerable  distance  east  of  the  Jordan.  On  the  other  hand 
Mahanaim  seems  mentioned  in  verse  21  (which  see).  Perhaps  E 
placed  the  episode  at  Mahanaim  and  J  at  Peniel. 


3™ 


GENESIS  32.  i: 


he  come  and  smite  me,  the  mother  with  the  children. 

12  And  thou  saidst,  I  will  surely  do  thee  good,  and  make 
thy   seed   as   the   sand   of  the   sea,    which    cannot   be 

13  numbered  for  multitude.  And  he  lodged  there  that 
night ;  and  took  of  that  which  he  had  with  him  a  present 

14  for  Esau  his  brother ;  two  hundred  she-goats  and  twenty 

15  he-goats,  two  hundred  ewes  and  twenty  rams,  thirty 
milch  camels  and  their  colts,  forty  kine  and  ten  bulls, 

16  twenty  she-asses  and  ten  foals.  And  he  delivered  them 
into  the  hand  of  his  servants,  e^ery  drove  by  itself ;  and 
said  unto  his  servants,   Pass   over  before  me,  and  put 

\  7  a  space  betwixt  drove  and  drove.  And  he  commanded 
the  foremost,  saying,  When  Esau  my  brother  meeteth 
thee,  and  asketh  thee,  saying,  Whose  art  thou  ?  and 
whither  goest  thou?  and  whose  are  these  before  thee? 

18  then  thou  shalt  say,  They  be  thy  servant  Jacob's;  it  is 
a  present  sent  unto  my  lord  Esau :  and,  behold,  he  also 

[9  is  behind  us.  And  he  commanded  also  the  second,  and 
the  third,  and  all  that  followed  the  droves,  saying,  On 
this  manner  shall  ye  speak  unto  Esau,  when  ye  find  him  ; 

20  and  ye  shall  say,  Moreover,  behold,  thy  servant  Jacob  is 
behind  us.  For  he  said,  I  will  appease  him  with  the 
present  that  goeth  before  me,  and  afterward  I  will  see 

2 1  his  face ;  peradventure  he  will  accept  me.  So  the 
present  passed  over  before  him  :  and  he  himself  lodged 
that  night  in  the  company. 

11.  the  mother  with  the  children  :  cf.  Hos.  x.  14. 

12.  Cf.  xiii.  16,  xxii.  17. 

13.  Cf.  above  and  verse  21. 

14.  Note  the  absence  of  horses.  The  horse  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  known  in  Egypt  before  about  b.  c.  1600  ;  and  was 
not  perhaps  common  amongst  the  Israelites  before  the  time  of 
Solomon. 

21.  in  the  company:  Heb.  in  the  mahaneh,  'camp'  or 
'host' 


GENESIS  32.  22-24.     J  313 

And  he  rose  up  that  night,  and  took  his  two  wives,  and  22 
his  two  handmaids,  and  his  eleven  children,  and  passed 
over  the  ford  of  Jabbok.     And  he  took  them,  and  sent  23 
them  over  the  stream,  and  sent  over  that  he  had.     And  24 
Jacob  was  left  alone ;  and  there  wrestled  a  man  with  him 

It  is  proposed1  to  read  here  Mahanaim  (MHNM)  for  mahanch 
(MHNH).     The  final  M  and  H  are  sometimes  confused. 

22.  his  eleven  children.  According  to  xxix,  xxx  Jacob  had 
at  this  time  eleven  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  word  2  translated 
1  children'  mean  strictly  'male  children,'  but  would  naturally  be 
used  for  children  generally.  In  any  case  Dinah 3  is  ignored, 
another  indication  that  the  reference  to  her  did  not  belong  to  the 
older  form  of  the  narrative. 

Jahbok,  the  Nahr-ez-Zerka,  a  tributary  running  into  the 
Jordan,  about  halfway  between  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Sea  of 
Galilee.  Mahanaim  is  sometimes  placed  on  its  banks,  sometimes 
a  few  miles  to  the  north. 

xxxii.  24-32.  Jacob's  wrestling.  Often  regarded  as  compounded 
from  J  and  E,  but  perhaps  almost  wholly  J,  cf.  above  and  verses 
28,  30.  But  the  form  and  meaning  of  the  original  story  are  un- 
certain, because  probably  even  the  author  of  the  Primitive  Docu- 
ment found  in  it  features  which  he  omitted  or  altered  because 
they  were  unsatisfactory ;  and  later  editors  may  have  made 
further  changes.  Probably  in  the  original  the  'man'  was  the 
deity,  Elokim  or  El,  worshipped  at  Peniel ;  this  deity  was  distinct 
from  Yahweh;  and,  in  the  original  stor}',  Jacob  compelled  him 
to  utter  his  name.  It  was  often  a  point  of  magic  to  compel  the  spirit 
who  had  been  conjured  up  to  reveal  his  name.  Jacob  also  won 
a  blessing  by  force  from  this  deity,  i.  e.  the  sanctuary  at  Peniel 
became  a  place  where  Israelites  might  worship  and  be  blessed. 
The  narrative  may  be  a  reminiscence  of  the  conquest  of  the 
district  by  the  Israelites,  which  would  involve  the  subjection  of 
the  deity  of  Peniel  by  the  God  of  Israel,  and  the  appropriation  of 
the  sanctuary  to  the  use  of  the  Israelites.  The  '  halting  upon  the 
thigh '  was  no  doubt 4  a  feature  of  a  ritual  dance  at  this  sanctu- 
ary, the  origin  of  which  was  explained  by  our  narrative.  This 
story  would  be  preserved  in  the  sanctuary  at  Peniel.  The  story 
of  the  wrestling  by  night  with  the  unknown  supernatural  being  is 
one  of  '  Rembrandtesque  grandeur  V 

Probably,  however,  the  editor  who  completed  the  Pentateuch, 
and  inserted  this  story  in  its  final  form,  intended  the  '  man '  to  be 
understood  as  a  representative  of  the  God  of  Israel,  and  interpreted 

1  Ball.  2  Yeladhaiv.  s  Cf.  xxx.  si.  4  Gunkel. 


3M  GENESIS  32.  25-28.     J 

25  until  the  breaking  of  the  day.  And  when  he  saw  that  he 
prevailed  not  against  him,  he  touched  the  hollow  of  his 
thigh ;  and  the  hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh  was  strained,  as 

26  he  wrestled  with  him.  And  he  said,  Let  me  go,  for  the 
day   breaketh.     And  he  said,    I  will  not  let   thee  go, 

27  except  thou  bless  me.     And  he  said  unto  him,  What  is 

28  thy  name?  And  he  said,  Jacob.  And  he  said,  Thy 
name  shall  be  called  no  more  Jacob,  but  Israel :  for 
thou  hast  striven  with  God  and  with  men,   and  hast 

the  :  wrestling  '  as  a  symbol  of  wrestling  with  God  in  prayer  ;  and 
the  Christian  Church  has  always  used  the  narrative  in  this  sense. 

24.  there  wrestled  a  man.  In  the  original  story  Jacob,  alone 
in  the  darkness,  is  assaulted  by  a  f  man 1'  an  unearthly  being 
in  human  form,  who  seeks  to  slay  him2.  Later  interpretation 
changed  this  grim  scene  to  a  figure  of  a  night  spent  in  agonizing 
prayer.  *  Wrestled,'  ye^abeq,  is  an  etymology  of  Jabbok  (yabboq). 
'Man,'  see  above. 

25.  he  touched  the  hollow  of  his  thigh.  It  is  suggested  3  that 
in  the  original  story  it  may  have  been  Jacob  who  played  this  trick, 
after  his  fashion,  on  his  opponent. 

26.  he  said,  Let  me  g'o,  for  the  day  "breaketh.  The  ?  man,' 
like  the  spirits  in  tales  of  magic,  cannot  remain  after  the  dawn. 
The  advantage  is  with  Jacob,  which  favours  the  view  mentioned 
in  the  previous  verse. 

28.  Israel :  usually  explained  as  {  God  striveth,'  and  sometimes 
regarded  as  the  battle-cry  of  the  nation.  The  other  explanation 
in  R.  V.  marg.,  '  He  who  striveth  with  God,'  is  the  etymology 
implied  in  the  latter  part  of  the  verse,  but  is  not  likely  to  have 
been  the  original  meaning  of  the  name.  Other  explanations  are 
'  God  persists'  and  '  El's  warrior.'  Another  interesting  theory  is 
that  *  Israel '  is  a  contraction  for  'ish  Rahel,  '  the  men  of  Rachel,' 
i.  e.  the  Rachelites  or  tribe  of  Rachel  *.  According  to  this  view 
Rachel,  as  the  leading  tribe  of  the  confederation,  ultimately  gave 
its  name  to  the  whole.  The  change  of  name  at  this  point  probably 
corresponds  to  the  enlargement  of  the  confederation  by  the 
addition  to  the  original  Jacob  of  the  Aramaean  tribe  of  Rachel, 
and  perhaps  of  other  tribes,  Leah,  &c.  A  name  believed  to  be 
Israel  occurs  on  a  monument  of  Merenptah  II,  c.  B.C.  1280, 
apparently  as  the  name  of  a  people  conquered  by  him  in  Palestine, 
thou  hast  striven  (R.  V.  marg.  '  had  power ')  with  God  and 

1  Cf.  above.  2  Cf.  Exod.  iv.  24;  Num.  xxii.  33. 

3  Holzinger.  *  Cf.  p.  285. 


GENESIS  32.  29— 33.  3.     J  315 

prevailed.     And  Jacob  asked  him,  and  said,  Tell  me,  29 
I  pray  thee,  thy  name.     And  he  said,  Wherefore  is  it 
that  thou  dost  ask  after  my  name  ?    And  he  blessed  him 
there.     And  Jacob  called  the  name  of  the  place  Peniel :  30 
for,  said  he,  I  have  seen  God  face  to  face,  and  my  life  is 
preserved.     And  the  sun  rose  upon  him  as  he  passed  31 
over  Penuel,  and  he  halted  upon  his  thigh.     Therefore  32 
the  children  of  Israel  eat  not  the  sinew  of  the  hip  which 
is  upon  the  hollow  of  the  thigh,  unto  this  day  :  because 
he  touched  the  hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh  in  the  sinew  of 
the  hip. 

And  Jacob  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  looked,  and,  behold,  33 
Esau  came,  and  with  him  four  hundred  men.     And  he 
divided  the  children  unto  Leah,  and  unto  Rachel,  and 
unto  the  two  handmaids.     And  he  put  the  handmaids    2 
and  their  children  foremost,  and  Leah  and  her  children 
after,  and  Rachel  and  Joseph  hindermost.     And  he  him-   3 
self  passed  over  before  them,  and  bowed  himself  to  the 

with  men,  and  hast  prevailed.  R.  V.  marg.,  the  LXX,  and 
Vulgate  have '  thou  hast  had  power  with  God,  and  thou  shalt  pre- 
vail against  men.'  This  wrestling  is  referred  to  in  Hos.  xii.  3,  4, 
1  In  his  manhood  he  had  power  with  God  :  yea,  he  had  power 
over  the  angel  and  prevailed.' 

30.  Peniel :  understood,  according  to  the  following  etymology, 
as  'face  of  God.'  The  alternative  form  Penuel  in  the  next  verse 
is  probably  the  more  accurate.  The  name  would  suggest  a  place 
where  God  reveals  Himself,  and  was  no  doubt  the  name  of  an 
ancient  sanctuary.  The  site  is  uncertain.  For  this  verse  see  also 
xvi.  13. 

32.  eat  not  the  sinew  of  the  hip :  usually  explained  as  the 
nervus  ischidiacus,  but  according  to  others 1  the  musculus  glutacus. 
This  custom  is  not  mentioned  anywhere  else  in  the  O.  T. ;  and  a 
reference  in  the  Mishna2  is  clearly  dependent  on  this  passage. 

xxxiii.  2.  Rachel  and  Joseph  hindermost :  the  favourites  in 
the  safest  place. 

3.  howed  himself  to  the  ground  seven  times.     Many  of  the 

1  e.  g.  Gunk-Ji.  2  About  A.  d.  200. 


316  GENESIS  33.  4-13.     J 

ground  seven  times,  until  he  came  near  to  his  brother. 

4  And  Esau  ran  to  meet  him,  and  embraced  him,  and  fell 

5  on  his  neck,  and  kissed  him :  and  they  wept.  And  he 
lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  the  women  and  the  children ; 
and  said,  Who  are  these  with  thee  ?  And  he  said,  The 
children  which  God  hath  graciously  given  thy  servant. 

6  Then  the  handmaids  came  near,  they  and  their  children, 

7  and  they  bowed  themselves.  And  Leah  also  and  her 
children  came  near,  and  bowed  themselves  :  and  after 
came  Joseph  near  and  Rachel,  and  they  bowed  them- 

8  selves.  And  he  said,  What  meanest  thou  by  all  this 
company  which  I  met  ?     And  he  said,  To  find  grace  in 

9  the  sight  of  my  lord.     And  Esau  said,  I  have  enough ; 

10  my  brother,  let  that  thou  hast  be  thine.  And  Jacob 
said,  Nay,  I  pray  thee,  if  now  I  have  found  grace  in  thy 
sight,  then  receive  my  present  at  my  hand  :  forasmuch  as 
I  have  seen  thy  face,  as  one  seeth  the  face  of  God,  and 

11  thou  wast  pleased  with  me.  Take,  I  pray  thee,  my  gift 
that  is  brought  to  thee ;  because  God  hath  dealt  graciously 
with  me,  and  because  I  have  enough.     And  he  urged 

12  him,  and  he  took  it.     And  he   said,   Let  us  take  our 

13  journey,  and  let  us  go,  and  I  will  go  before  thee.     And 

letters  in  the  Amarna  tablets  l  from  subject  princes  and  Egyptian 
officials  in  Palestine  to  the  King  of  Egypt  begin  with  '  At  the  feet 
of  my  lord,  seven  times  and  seven  times  I  fall.' 

8-11.     Another  example  of  the  elaborate  courtesy,  in  external 
form,  of  Oriental  bargaining,  cf.  xxiii.  8-16. 

10.  forasmuch  as  I  have  seen  thy  face :  R.  V.  marg.  '  for  there- 
fore have  I  seen.' 

as  one  seeth  the  face  of  God :  another  allusion  to  Peniel,  see 
xxxii.  30.  In  the  Amarna  tablets  the  Palestinian  princes  address 
Pharaoh  as  'my  lord,  my  god,  my  sun2.'  'God'  in  5,  10 f.  is 
probably  a  trace  of  E. 

11.  gift:  Heb.  'blessing.' 
enough  :  Heb.  '  all.' 

1  Seep.  7i,andWinckler'strans.p.  207, &c.     2  Winckler,p.  I2i,&c. 


GENESIS  33.  14-18.     JR  317 

he  said  unto  him,  My  lord  knoweth  that  the  children  are 
tender,  and  that  the  flocks  and  herds  with  me  give  suck : 
and  if  they  overdrive  them  one  day,  all  the  flocks  will 
die.     Let  my  lord,   I  pray  thee,   pass   over   before  his  14 
servant :  and  I  will  lead  on  softly,  according  to  the  pace 
of  the  cattle  that  is  before  me  and  according  to  the  pace 
of  the  children,  until  I  come  unto  my  lord  unto  Seir. 
And  Esau  said,  Let  me  now  leave  with  thee  some  of  the  15 
folk  that  are  with  me.     And  he  said,  What  needeth  it  ? 
let  me  find  grace  in  the  sight  of  my  lord.     So  Esau  16 
returned  that  day  on  his  way  unto  Seir.     And  Jacob  17 
journeyed  to  Succoth,  and  built  him  an  house,  and  made 
booths  for  his  cattle :  therefore  the  name  of  the  place  is 
called  Succoth. 

[R]  And  Jacob  came  in  peace  to  the  city  of  Shechem,  is 

14-17.  The  reconciliation,  after  all,  is  only  half-hearted,  at 
any  rate  on  Jacob's  part.  The  conclusion  shows  that  he  is  full  of 
anxious  mistrust  of  Esau,  and  eager  to  get  away  from  him  on  any 
pretext.  He  promises  to  follow  him  to  Seir,  but  makes  off  in 
quite  another  direction,  first  to  Succoth  and  then  to  Shechem. 

Succoth  :    '  booths ' ;   east  of  the  Jordan  and    south    of  the 
Jabbok,  the  exact  site  unknown. 

xxxiii.  18 — xxxiv.  31.     Dinah  at  Shechem  (R). 

xxxiii.  18-20.  Jacob  comes  to  Shechem,  buys  land,  and  builds 
an  altar. 

xxxiv.  1-24.  Dinah  is  seduced  by  Shechem,  who  afterwards 
obtains  her  from  Jacob  as  his  wife.  A  treaty  for  trade  and  inter- 
marriage is  concluded  between  Israel  and  Shechem,  on  condition 
that  the  Shechemites  should  be  circumcised.  They  fulfil  this 
condition. 

xxxiv.  25-31.  Simeon  and  Levi  take  advantage  of  the  prostra- 
tion of  the  Shechemites  through  their  circumcision  to  massacre 
them  and  to  rescue  Dinah.     Jacob  rebukes  his  sons. 

Sources,  &c.  This  section  is  based  on  an  ancient  story 
contained  in  J  or  E  or  in  both,  but  it  has  been  so  extensively 
altered  by  a  late  post-exilic  editor  that  it  was  not  worth  while  to 
try  and  divide  the  whole  of  it  up  amongst  the  original  sources. 


318  GENESIS  33.    1 8.     R 

which  is  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  when  he  came  from 

The  probable  origin  of  various  fragments  will  be  mentioned  in 
the  notes. 

The  original  story  was  a  piece  of  tribal  annals  told  in  the  form 
of  personal  history.  Its  general  meaning  was  as  follows : — 
A  treaty  existed  between  the  Israelites  and  the  men  of  Shechem. 
The  story  of  Abimelech1  seems  to  imply  this  situation,  note  its 
reference a  to  the  Temple  of  Baal-berith,  '  the  Lord  of  the  Cove- 
nant.' Probably  in  consequence  of  this  treaty  the  Israelite  clan 
Dinah  settled  in  Shechem  or  its  territory,  and  was  oppressed  by 
the  Shechemites — a  parallel  to  the  history  of  Israel  in  Egypt. 
Simeon  and  Levi  were  closely  connected  with  Dinah  as  i  children 
of  Leah/  branches  of  the  Leah  tribe.  Provoked  by  the  sufferings 
of  their  kinsfolk,  they  set  at  nought  the  obligations  of  the  treaty, 
surprised  Shechem  by  a  treacherous  stratagem,  sacked  the  cit}', 
and  massacred  the  inhabitants. 

This  act  was  solemnly  disavowed  by  the  rest  of  Israel,  and  the 
offending  tribes  were  placed  under  a  ban,  witness  the  curse  upon 
Simeon  and  Levi  in  the  Blessing  of  Jacob3. 

The  sequel,  which  is  no  longer  told  in  the  revised  edition  of 
the  story,  was  that  Simeon  and  Levi,  thus  abandoned  to  the  fury 
of  the  Canaanites,  suffered  some  great  disaster  which  annihilated 
them  as  independent  tribes  ;  so  that  the  remnants  of  Simeon  sought 
refuge  in  Judah,  and  the  Levitical  refugees  were  scattered  among 
the  tribes.  This  episode  probably  belongs  to  the  early  stages  of 
the  conquest  of  Canaan. 

The  late  editor  has,  no  doubt,  done  his  best  to  tone  down  the 
objectionable  features  of  the  original  story — a  fact  which  we  should 
be  better  able  to  appreciate  if  we  had  that  story  as  it  was  told, 
say  in  the  time  of  David.  The  revised  story  seems  directed 
against  marriage  with  Gentiles. 

We  may  quote  a  curious  parallel  to  this  story  from  modern 
times.  '  One  year  when  the  Annezy  Arabs  passed  by  with  their 
cattle  they  pitched  by  the  Kheybar  valleys,  as  in  a  place  of  much 
water.  An  Annezy  maiden  entered  Kheybar  to  see  the  daughters 
of  the  town  :  and  there  a  young  man  was  wounded  for  her  love, 
who  enticed  the  gazing  damsel  ...  he  was  the  Sheykh  Okilla's 
son!  The  poor  young  woman  went  home  weeping; — and  she 
was  a  Sheykh's  daughter.  This  felony  was  presently  reported 
in  the  nomads'  encampment !  and,  "  It  was  not  to  be  borne  that 
a  virgin  should  suffer  violence  !  "  said  all  the  Beduw. 

'The  Annezy  Sheykhs  sent  to  require  satisfaction  from  the 
Sheykh  of  Kheybar ;  who  answered  them  shortly  that  the  Annezy 

1  Judges  ix.  2  Judges  ix.  4. 

s  Gen.  xlix.  5-7  (which  see),  cf.  xxxiv.  30. 


GENESIS  33.  19— 34.  4.     R  319 

Paddan-aram ;  and  encamped  before  the  city.     And  he  19 
bought  the  parcel  of  ground,  where  he  had  spread  his 
tent,  at  the  hand  of  the  children  of  Hamor,  Shechem's 
father,  for  an  hundred  pieces  of  money.     And  he  erected  20 
there  an  altar,  and  called  it  El-elohe-Israel. 

And  Dinah  the  daughter  of  Leah,  which  she  bare  unto  34 
Jacob,  went  out  to  see  the  daughters  of  the  land.     And  2 
Shechem  the  son  of  Hamor  the  Hivite,  the  prince  of  the 
land,  saw  her  j  and  he  took  her,  and  lay  with  her,  and 
humbled   her.      And    his   soul   clave   unto  Dinah   the  3 
daughter  of  Jacob,  and  he  loved  the  damsel,  and  spake 
kindly  unto  the  damsel.     And  Shechem  spake  unto  his  4 

should  no  more  water  there.  On  the  morrow  the  town  Sheykh, 
Okilla,  rode  to  the  nomads'  encampment,  with  a  few  horsemen, 
and  defied  them.  The  Beduw  set  furiously  upon  them  ;  and 
Okilla  fell,  and  there  were  slain  many  of  his  people.  The  Beduw 
now  overran  all ;  they  conquered  the  villages,  and  bound  them- 
selves by  oath  not  to  give  their  daughters  to  the  people  of 
Kheybar  for  ever1.' 

18.  came  in  peace  to  the  city  of  Shechem :  perhaps  a  refer- 
ence to  a  treaty  between  Israel  and  Shechem,  R.  V.  marg.  '  came 
to  Shalem,  a  city  of  Shechem,'  a  less  probable  rendering. 

when  he  came  from  Paddan-aram :  a  fragment  of  P  or  an 
addition  of  R. 

19.  he  bought  the  parcel  of  ground  :  cf.  xlviii.  22. 

pieces  of  money:  translates  a  Hebrew  word,  Kesitah,  only 
found  here,  Joshua  xxiv.  32,  and  Job  xlii.  11,  and  of  unknown 
meaning.     The  LXX  and  Vulgate  render  it  'lamb.' 

20.  erected  there  an  altar.  Judges,  as  we  have  seen,  mentions 
a  Temple  of  Baal-berith  at  Shechem,  and  Yahweh  was  worshipped 
in  early  times  under  the  title  Baal ;  an  Israelite  sanctuary  at 
Shechem  is  mentioned  in  Joshua  xxiv.  26,  E. 

El-elohe-Israel :  El,  the  God  of  Israel. 

1.  Dinah.    See  xxx.  21. 

2.  Hivite.    See  x.  17. 

3.  his  soul  clave  unto  Dinah :  he  fell  in  love  with  her. 
spake  kindly  :  Heb.  '  to  the  heart  of,'  i.  e.  made  love  to  her. 

1  C.  M.  Doughty,  Arabia  Deserta,  II.  114.  One  or  two  explana- 
tory words  have  been  inserted,  and  English  words  have  been  substi- 
tuted for  Arab  terms  used  by  C.  M.  D. 


320  GENESIS  34.  5-17.     R 

5  father  Hamor,  saying,  Get  me  this  damsel  to  wife.  Now 
Jacob  heard  that  he  had  defiled  Dinah  his  daughter  ; 
and  his  sons  were  with  his  cattle  in  the  field  :  and  Jacob 

6  held  his  peace  until  they  came.  And  Hamor  the  father 
of  Shechem  went  out  unto  Jacob  to  commune  with  him. 

7  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came  in  from  the  field  when  they 
heard  it :  and  the  men  were  grieved,  and  they  were  very 
wroth,  because  he  had  wrought  folly  in  Israel  in  lying 
with  Jacob's  daughter  ;  which  thing  ought  not  to  be  done. 

8  And  Hamor  communed  with  them,  saying,  The  soul  of 
my  son  Shechem  longeth  for  your  daughter :  I  pray  you 

9  give  her  unto  him  to  wife.  And  make  ye  marriages  with 
us,  give  your  daughters  unto  us,  and  take  our  daughters 

io  unto  you.  And  ye  shall  dwell  with  us  :  and  the  land 
shall  be  before  you ;  dwell  and  trade  ye  therein,  and  get 

ii  you  possessions  therein.  And  Shechem  said  unto  her 
father  and  unto  her  brethren,  Let  me  find  grace  in  your 

1 2  eyes,  and  what  ye  shall  say  unto  me  I  will  give.  Ask  me 
never  so  much  dowry  and  gift,  and  I  will  give  according 
as  ye  shall  say  unto  me  :  but  give  me  the  damsel  to  wife. 

13  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  answered  Shechem  and  Hamor 
his  father  with  guile,  and  spake,  because  he  had  defiled 

1  j.  Dinah  their  sister,  and  said  unto  them,  We  cannot  do 
this  thing,  to  give  our  sister  to  one  that  is  uncircumcised  ; 

1 5  for  that  were  a  reproach  unto  us  :  only  on  this  condition 
will  we  consent  unto  you  :  if  ye  will  be  as  we  be,  that 

16  every  male  of  you  be  circumcised ;  then  will  we  give  our 
daughters  unto  you,  and  we  will  take  your  daughters  to 
us,  and  we  will  dwell  with  you,  and  we  will  become  one 

17  people.  But  if  ye  will  not  hearken  unto  us,  to  be 
circumcised  ;  then  will  we  take  our  daughter,  and  we  will 

5.  the  field:  the  open  country  at  some  distance  from  the  city. 
12.  dowry  and  gift.    Cf.  xxiv.  53. 


GENESIS  34.  18-29.     R  321 

begone.     And  their  words  pleased  Hamor,  and  Shechem  18 
Hamor's  son.     And  the  young  man  deferred  not  to  do  19 
the  thing,  because  he  had  delight  in  Jacob's  daughter : 
and  he  was  honoured  above  all  the  house  of  his  father. 
And  Hamor  and  Shechem  his  son  came  unto  the  gate  of  20 
their  city,  and  communed  with  the  men  of  their  city, 
saying,  These  men  are  peaceable  with  us ;  therefore  let  2 1 
them  dwell  in  the  land,  and  trade  therein ;  for,  behold, 
the  land  is  large  enough  for  them ;   let  us  take  their 
daughters  to  us  for  wives,  and  let  us  give  them  our 
daughters.     Only  on  this  condition  will  the  men  consent  22 
unto  us  to  dwell  with  us,  to  become  one  people,  if  every 
male  among  us  be  circumcised,  as  they  are  circumcised. 
Shall  not  their  cattle  and  their  substance  and  all  their  23 
beasts  be  ours  ?  only  let  us  consent  unto  them,  and  they 
will  dwell  with  us.     And  unto  Hamor  and  unto  Shechem  24 
his  son  hearkened  all  that  went  out  of  the  gate  of  his 
city ;  and  every  male  was  circumcised,  all  that  went  out 
of  the  gate  of  his  city.     And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  25 
third  day,  when  they  were  sore,  that  two  of  the  sons  of 
Jacob,  Simeon  and  Levi,   Dinah's  brethren,  took  each 
man  his  sword,  and  came  upon  the  city  unawares,  and 
slew  all  the  males.     And  they  slew  Hamor  and  Shechem  26 
his  son  with  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  took  Dinah  out 
of  Shechem's  house,  and  went  forth.     The  sons  of  Jacob  27 
came  upon  the  slain,  and  spoiled  the  city,  because  they 
had  defiled  their  sister.     They  took  their  flocks  and  their  28 
herds  and  their  asses,  and  that  which  was  in  the  city,  and 
that  which  was  in  the  field ;  and  all  their  wealth,  and  all  29 
their  little  ones  and  their  wives,  took  they  captive  and 

20.  the  gate  of  their  city :  the  usual  place  of  public  meeting. 
25.  Cf.  Joshua  v.  8. 
unawares  :  R.  V.  marg.  '  boldly.' 


322  GENESIS  34.  30— 35.  2.     RE 

30  spoiled,  even  all  that  was  in  the  house.  And  Jacob  said 
to  Simeon  and  Levi,  Ye  have  troubled  me,  to  make  me 
to  stink  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  land,  among  the 
Canaanites  and  the  Perizzites :  and,  I  being  few  in 
number,  they  will  gather  themselves  together  against  me 
and  smite  me ;  and  I  shall  be  destroyed,  I  and  my  house. 

31  And  they  said,  Should  he  deal  with  our  sister  as  with  an 
harlot  ? 

35  [E]  And  God  said  unto  Jacob,  Arise,  go  up  to  Beth-el, 
and  dwell  there  :  and  make  there  an  altar  unto  God,  who 
appeared  unto  thee  when  thou  fleddest  from  the  face  of 
2  Esau  thy  brother.  Then  Jacob  said  unto  his  household, 
and  to  all  that  were  with  him,  Put  away  the  strange  gods 
that  are  among  you,  and  purify  yourselves,  and  change 

xxxv.  Jacob  returns  to  his  Father  ;  Death  and  Burial  of 
Isaac.     (Compiled  from  J,  E,  and  P.) 

xxxv.  1-5,  6b,  7,  8,  14.  (E)  At  God's  bidding  Jacob  goes  to 
Beth-el,  having  first  buried  the  idols  of  his  household  at  Shechem. 
He  builds  an  altar  at  Beth-el  and  sets  up  a  pillar  there.  Deborah, 
Rebekah's  nurse,  dies. 

xxxv.  6a,  9-13,  15.  (P)  Jacob  goes  to  Luz  ;  God  blesses  him 
there,  and  changes  his  name  to  Israel.    He  names  the  place  Beth-el. 

xxxv.  16-22  a1.  (JE)  Rachel  dies  on  the  way  from  Beth-el  to 
Beth-lehem,  after  giving  birth  to  Benjamin.  Reuben  sins  with 
Bilhah. 

xxxv.  22&2-29.  (P)  Jacob's  twelve  sons.  He  comes  to  Isaac  at 
Hebron.     Isaac  dies,  and  Esau  and  Jacob  bury  him. 

Sources,  &c.     See  the  separate  paragraphs  and  verses. 

xxxv.  1-5.  (E)  Jacob  fulfils  his  vow  at  Beth-cl.  These  and  the 
connected  verses  are  the  completion  of  the  story  of  the  founding 
of  the  sanctuary  at  Beth-el. 

2.  the  strange  gods  that  are  among  yon:  including  the 
teraphim  that  Rachel  had  stolen  from  her  father,  see  xxxi.  19. 

purify  yourselves  :  perform  ablutions  and  other  ritual  acts, 
including  the  changing  of  garments,  cf.  Exod.  xix.  10. 

1  As  far  as  '  heard  of  it.'  2  From  '  Now  the  sons.' 


GENESIS  35.  3-8.     EPE  323 

your  garments  :  and  let  us  arise,  and  go  up  to  Beth-el ;  3 
and  I  will  make  there  an  altar  unto  God,  who  answered 
me  in  the  day  of  my  distress,  and  was  with  me  in  the 
way  which  I  went      And  they  gave  unto  Jacob  all  the  4 
strange  gods  which  were  in  their  hand,  and  the  rings 
which  were  in  their  ears ;  and  Jacob  hid  them  under  the 
oak  which  was  by  Shechem.     And  they  journeyed  :  and  5 
a  great  terror  was  upon  the  cities  that  were  round  about 
them,  and  they  did  not  pursue  after  the  sons  of  Jacob. 
[P]   So  Jacob  came  to  Luz,   which   is  in  the  land  of  6 
Canaan  (the  same  is  Beth-el),  [E]  he  and  all  the  people 
that  were  with  him.     And  he  built  there  an  altar,  and  7 
called  the  place  El-beth-el  :   because  there  God  was  re- 
vealed unto  him,   when  he   fled  from  the  face  of  his 
brother.     And  Deborah  Rebekah's  nurse  died,  and  she  8 
was  buried  below  Beth-el  under  the  oak :  and  the  name 
of  it  was  called  Allon-bacuth. 

4.  ring's  :  probably  regarded  as  having  magic  powers,  cf.  the 
\  charms  '  worn  on  watch-chains. 

under  the  oak  :  R.  V.  marg.  '  terebinth,'  i.  e.  in  the  sanctuary, 
so  Joshua  xxiv.  26. 

5.  a  great  terror  :  Heb.  'a  terror  of  God.' 

6.  (P)  Luz.     See  xxviii.  19. 

8.  (E ')  Deborah  :  'bee.'  Rebekah's  nurse  is  mentioned  without 
a  name  in  xxiv.  59.  The  chronological  notes  would  make  her 
about  150  at  this  time;  but  the  verse  is  an  isolated  fragment  which 
has  no  relation  to  the  chronology.  This  Deborah  is  buried  '  under 
the  oak '  at  Beth-el,  doubtless  a  sacred  tree  in  the  sanctuary,  like 
that  at  Shechem  in  verse  4.  In  Judges  iv.  4  the  other  Deborah 
has  her  official  seat  under  a  palm-tree  near  Beth-el.  Apparently 
there  was  a  sacred  tree  or  trees  at  the  sanctuary  at  Beth-el  called 
'the  tree  of  Deborah,'  and  some  traditions  connected  it  with  the 
prophetess  and  others  with  the  nurse.  The  word  used  here  for 
*  oak' 2  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  a  generic  term  for  trees. 

Allon-bacuth;  that  is  'the  oak  of  weeping,' apparently  called 
'oak  of  Tabor'  in  1  Sam.  x.  3,  where,  however,  'Tabor'  is 
probably  a  misreading  for  '  Deborah.' 


1  Sometimes  given  to  J.  a  Allon. 

Y    2 


324  GENESIS  35.  9-16.     PEPJE 

9      [P]  And  God  appeared  unto  Jacob  again,  when  he 

10  came  from  Paddan-aram,  and  blessed  him.  And  God 
said  unto  him,  Thy  name  is  Jacob  :  thy  name  shall  not 
be  called  any  more  Jacob,  but  Israel  shall  be  thy  name : 

11  and  he  called  his  name  Israel.  And  God  said  unto  him, 
I  am  God  Almighty :  be  fruitful  and  multiply ;  a  nation 
and  a  company  of  nations  shall  be  of  thee,  and  kings 

12  shall  come  out  of  thy  loins;  and  the  land  which  I  gave 
unto  Abraham  and  Isaac,  to  thee  I  will  give  it,  and  to 

13  thy  seed  after  thee  will  I  give  the  land.  And  God  went 
up  from  him  in  the  place  where  he  spake  with  him.     [E] 

14  And  Jacob  set  up  a  pillar  in  the  place  where  he  spake 
with  him,  a  pillar  of  stone :  and  he  poured  out  a  drink 

15  offering  thereon,  and  poured  oil  thereon.  [P]  And 
Jacob  called  the  name  of  the  place  where  God  spake 

16  with  him,  Beth-el.  [JE]  And  they  journeyed  from  Beth- 
el ;  and  there  was  still  some  way  to  come  to  Ephrath  : 

xxxv.  9-13.  (P)  The  Priestly  account  of  the  names  i  Israel"1  and 
1  Beth-eV  This  account  was  originally  intended  to  supersede  those 
of  the  older  documents.  Beth-el  is  simply  a  place  where  God 
appears.  There  is  no  recognition  of  the  altar,  the  pillar,  or  the 
tithes.  In  giving  the  new  name  '  Israel '  the  storj'  of  the  midnight 
wrestling  is  suppressed. 

11.  Cf.  xvii.  1-8. 

14.  (E)  Cf.  xxviii.  18. 

xxxv.  16-20.  (JE)  Birth  of  Benjamin  and  Death  of  Rachel.  It 
is  not  certain  to  which  of  the  two  earlier  documents  this  story 
belongs.  It  was  evidently  connected  with  a  monument,  originally 
perhaps  part  of  a  sanctuary,  called  the  Pillar  ;  the  monument  may 
have  been,  like  the  Galeed  cairn  in  xxxi.  52,  a  boundary  stone, 
marking  the  southern  boundary  of  the  tribe  of  Rachel.  The 
story  is  generally  regarded  as  a  piece  of  tribal  history.  The 
birth  of  Benjamin  takes  place  in  what  was  later  on  the  territory 
of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  and  this  '  birth  '  is  really  the  formation 
of  the  tribe.  The  meaning  of  the  statement  that  Rachel  died 
when  Benjamin  was  born  is  that  the  formation  of  the  new  tribe 
Benjamin  broke  up  the  old  tribe  Rachel. 

16.  Ephrath.     See   verse  19.     The  careful  definition  of  the 


GENESIS  35.  17-20.     JE  325 

and  Rachel  travailed,  and  she  had  hard  labour.     And  it  17 
came  to  pass,  when  she  was  in  hard  labour,  that  the  mid- 
wife said  unto  her,  Fear  not;  for  now  thou  shalt  have 
another  son.     And  it  came  to  pass,  as  her  soul  was  in  18 
departing  (for  she  died),  that  she  called  his  name  Ben- 
oni :  but  his  father  called  him  Benjamin.     And  Rachel  19 
died,  and  was  buried  in  the  way  to  Ephrath  (the  same  is 
Beth-lehem).     And  Jacob  set  up  a  pillar  upon  her  grave  :  20 
the  same  is  the  Pillar  of  Rachel's  grave  unto  this  day. 

position  is  intended  to  make  it  clear  that  the  event  took  place  in 
the  territory  of  Benjamin.      Beth-lehem  was  in  Judah. 

18.  Ben-oni,  i.e.  'The  son  of  my  sorrow.'  Benjamin,  i.e. 
'The  son  of  the  right  hand.'  Ben-oni  was  probably  an  old  tribal 
name  ;  we  find  Onan  '  as  the  name  of  a  clan  of  Judah  in  about  the 
same  district,  and  there  was  a  Benjamite  city  Ono2.  Professor 
Sayce  connects  '  Oni '  with  the  sacred  city  On  in  Egypt,  and 
supposes  that  it  is  a  trace  of  the  worship  of  an  Egyptian  deity. 
Beth-el,  according  to  him,  was  originally  Beth-on,  cf.  the  Biblical 
name  Beth-aven3.  'Benjamin'  means  'southern,'  'the  right 
hand'  being  the  south  in  Hebrew  ;  the  district  is  called  in  1  Sam. 
ix.  4,  &c.  '  the  land  Yemini,'  i.  e.  the  southern  land,  just  as 
Southern  Arabia  is  called  the  Yemen.  So  the  term  in  1  Sam.  ix.  1, 
&c.  for  Benjamite  is  'ish  Yemini,  '  Southerner.'  The  name  of  the 
tribe  therefore  is  formed  from  the  name  of  the  district  which  it 
occupied  ;  and  both  the  tribe  and  the  name  arose  after  the  settle- 
ment in  Canaan.  As  Benjamin  is  the  youngest  son  of  Jacob,  it 
was  the  latest  formed  of  the  tribes  ;  and  as  the  son  of  Rachel  and 
brother  of  Joseph,  it  broke  off  from  Rachel  or  Joseph  ;  and 
its  name  originally  signified  that  it  was  the  southern  branch  of  the 
larger  tribe. 

19.  Beth-lehem:  about  five  miles  south  of  Jerusalem.  The 
name  would  be  read  by  a  Jew  as  'house  of  bread ' ;  but  '  lehem  ' 
is  often  supposed  to  be  the  name  of  a  god  Lahnni,  mentioned  in 
Assyrian  inscriptions. 

20.  the  Pillar  of  Rachel's  grave.  Cf.  xxviii.  18  and  also 
above,  p.  31.  The  name  of  'pillar,'  macceba,  suggests  that  it  was 
at  one  time  a  sacred  pillar  connected  with  a  sanctuary.  If  the 
sanctuary  were  suppressed  in  the  reforms  of  Josiah,  the  pillar 
might  remain  as  a  monument,  and  be  regarded  as  a  memorial 

1  Gen.  xxxviii.  4.  a  Ezra  ii.  33. 

3  Religions  of  Ancient  Egypt,  &c,  p.  87. 


326  GENESIS  35.  21-26.     JEP 

31  And  Israel  journeyed,  and  spread  his  tent  beyond  the 

22  tower  of  Eder.  And  it  came  to  pass,  while  Israel  dwelt 
in  that  land,  that  Reuben  went  and  lay  with  Bilhah  his 
father's  concubine  :  and  Israel  heard  of  it. 

2 3  [P]  Now  the  sons  of  Jacob  were  twelve :  the  sons  of 
Leah ;  Reuben,  Jacob's  firstborn,  and  Simeon,  and  Levi, 

24  and  Judah,   and   Issachar,    and  Zebulun :   the  sons  of 

25  Rachel;  Joseph  and  Benjamin  :  and  the  sons  of  Bilhah, 

26  Rachel's  handmaid  ;  Dan  and  Naphtali :  and  the  sons  of 

stone  to  Rachel.  In  1  Sam.  x.  2  we  read  of  Rachel's  tomb,  in 
the  border  of  Benjamin  ;  and  in  Jer.  xxxi.  15,  'A  voice  is  heard 
in  Ramah  .  .  .  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children.'  Ramah  lay 
between  Beth-el  and  Beth-lehem. 

xxxv.  21,  22.  Perhaps  J.  Reuben's  sin  with  Bilhah.  This  inci- 
dent is  sometimes  regarded  as  a  figurative  description  of  the  low 
sexual  morality  prevailing  in  the  tribe  of  Reuben  ;  but  on  this 
view  it  is  not  clear  how  Bilhah  comes  in.  More  probably  we 
have  an  obscure  reference  to  some  political  misdoing  of  the  tribe 
of  Reuben  in  connexion  with  the  Bilhah  (Dan  and  Naphtali)  tribe 
which  provoked  the  resentment  of  the  rest  of  Israel.  Cf.  the 
curse  on  Reuben  in  the  Blessing  of  Jacob,  xlix.  3,  4. 

21.  the  tower  of  Eder :  i.  e.  '  the  tower  of  the  flock.'  The  site 
is  unknown. 

xxxv.  22b-26  (P).  The  Twelve  Patriarchs.  There  are  many 
lists  of  the  tribes,  which  are  usually  arranged  so  as  to  give  twelve. 
The  chief  exception  is  the  So>ig  of  Deborah.  This  number  is 
obtained  in  various  ways,  usually  by  omitting  Levi.  Twelve 
seems  to  have  been  a  sacred  number,  perhaps  because  it  was  the 
product  of  three  and  four1.  The  sons  of  Nahor  and  the  tribes  of 
Ishmael a  were  also  twelve.  The  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  have  been 
connected,  very  improbably,  with  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac. 
The  tribes  are  arranged  in  O.  T.  lists  in  twenty  different  orders  3, 
usually  the  grouping  is  more  or  less  according  to  the  mothers,  and 
Reuben  comes  first,  less  often  Judah  is  first.  In  Ezek.  xlviii. 
we  have  a  quasi-geographical  order,  and  Dan  (the  northern  Dan) 
comes  first. 

24,  26  P).  Benjamin  .  .  .  these  .  .  .  were  born  ...  in 
Paddan-aram :  an  express  contradiction  of  verses  16-18,  JE. 

1  Encycl.  Bibl.  2  Gen.  xvii.  20,  xxii.  20-24,  xxv.  16. 

8  See  the  author's  article  Tribe  in  Hastings'  Bible  Diet. 


GENESIS  35.  27—36.  2.     P  327 

Zilpah,  Leah's  handmaid  ;  Gad  and  Asher  :  these  are  the 
sons  of  Jacob,  which  were  born  to  him  in  Paddan-aram. 
And  Jacob  came  unto  Isaac  his  father  to  Mamre,  to  27 
Kiriath-arba  (the  same  is  Hebron),  where  Abraham  and 
Isaac   sojourned.      And    the   days   of    Isaac    were    an  28 
hundred  and  fourscore  years.     And  Isaac  gave  up  the  29 
ghost,  and  died,  and  was  gathered  unto  his  people,  old 
and  full  of  days  ;  and  Esau  and  Jacob  his  sons  buried  him. 

Now  these  are  the  generations  of  Esau  (the  same  is  36 
Edom).     Esau  took  his  wives  of  the  daughters  of  Ca-   2 
naan;    Adah   the   daughter   of  Elon   the   Hittite,   and 
Oholibamah   the    daughter   of  Anah,    the   daughter   of 

xxxv.  27-29  (P).    Death  and  Burial  of  Isaac.     Cf.  xxvii.  41. 

xxxvi.  The  Descendants  of  Esau.  (Compiled  from  P  and  J 
with  numerous  editorial  additions.) 

xxxvi.  1-5.  (P)  Esau's  wives  and  children. 

xxxvi.  6-8.  (P)  Esau  migrates  to  Mount  Seir. 

xxxvi.  9-14.  (P)  Genealogy  of  Esau's  sons. 

xxxvi.  15-19.   (P)  The  'dukes'  of  Edom. 

xxxvi.  20-28.   (P)  Genealogy  of  the  Horites. 

xxxvi.  29,  30.  (P)  The  '  dukes '  of  the  Horites. 

xxxvi.  31-39.   (J)  The  kings  of  Edom. 

xxxvi.  40-43.  (P)  The  '  dukes '  of  Edom. 

Sources,  Sec.  The  final  editor,  and  probably  some  of  his 
predecessors,  have  made  many  explanatory  additions  ;  and  the 
material  we  have  marked  as  P  is  not  all  consistent,  and  can  only 
come  partly  from  the  Priestly  Document,  the  rest  being  from  other 
late  post-Exilic  sources.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  P,  &c. 
here  had  older  authorities  behind  them.  The  chapter  is  tribal 
history  in  the  form  of  genealogies.  It  suggests  that  many  clans 
of  Edom  ultimately  were  absorbed  in  Israel. 

An  abstract  of  this  chapter  is  given  in  1  Chron.  i.  34-54. 

N.B.  Where  no  reference  is  given  to  other  occurrences  of 
a  name  in  this  chapter  it  is  only  found  here.  Also  where  nothing 
is  said  on  any  name,  or  its  derivation,  its  meaning,  or  the  location  of 
tribe  denoted  by  it,  is  not  given,  there  is  no  information  sufficiently 
certain  to  be  worth  giving. 

2.  Adah,  &c.    Cf.  iv.  23,  xxvi.  34. 

Oholibamah,   &c.  :    'tent  of  the    high   place,'  only  in   this 


328  GENESIS  36.  3-n.     P 

3  Zibeon  the  Hivite ;   and  Basemath  Ishmael's  daughter, 

4  sister  of  Nebaioth.     And  Adah  bare  to  Esau  Eliphaz ; 

5  and  Basemath  bare  Reuel ;  and  Oholibamah  bare  Jeush, 
and  Jalam,  and  Korah  :  these  are  the  sons  of  Esau,  which 

6  were  born  unto  him  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  And  Esau 
took  his  wives,  and  his  sons,  and  his  daughters,  and  all 
the  souls  of  his  house,  and  his  cattle,  and  all  his  beasts, 
and  all  his  possessions,  which  he  had  gathered  in  the 
land  of  Canaan ;  and  went  into  a  land  away  from  his 

7  brother  Jacob.  For  their  substance  was  too  great  for 
them  to  dwell  together ;  and  the  land  of  their  sojournings 

8  could  not  bear  them  because  of  their  cattle.     And  Esau 

9  dwelt  in  mount  Seir :  Esau  is  Edom.  And  these  are 
the  generations  of  Esau  the  father  of  the  Edomites  in 

io  mount  Seir  :  these  are  the  names  of  Esau's  sons  ;  Eliphaz 
the  son  of  Adah  the  wife  of  Esau,   Reuel  the  son  of 

ii  Basemath  the  wife  of  Esau.  And  the  sons  of  Eliphaz 
were  Teman,   Omar,    Zepho,   and  Gatam,    and   Kenaz. 

chapter  and  in  a  parallel  passage  i  Chron.  i.  52.  Cf.  the 
symbolic  names  Oholah  and  Oholibah  in  Ezek.  xxiii.  4,  &c.  In 
verse  41  Oholibamah  is  a  'duke.' 

Anah:  only  in  this  chapter  and  1  Chron.  i.  38-41.  In 
verse  24,  which  see,  and  in  some  authorities  here  Anah  is  a  son 
of  Zibeon  ;  in  verse  20  Anah  is  brother  of  Zibeon.     Cf.  x.  7. 

Zibeon  the  Hivite  :  rather  as  in  verse  20  '  the  Horite  '  ;  only 
here  and  1  Chron.  ;  in  verse  29  he  is  a  'duke.'    Zibeon  =  l hyaena.' 

3.  Basemath,  &c.     See  xxvi.  34,  xxviii.  9. 

4.  Eliphaz:  only  in  this  chapter  and  1  Chron.,  except  as  the 
name  of  a  character  in  Job. 

Reuel :  only  in  this  chapter  and  1  Chron.  ;  but  elsewhere  as 
the  name  of  persons,  amongst  them  the  father-in-law  of  Moses. 

5.  Jeush  .  .  .  Jalam  .  .  .  Korah  :  '  dukes  '  in  verse  18  ;  all  three 
occur  here  and  1  Chron.  Also  1  Chron.  vii.  10  Jeush  is  a  clan  of 
Benjamin,  and  1  Chron.  ii.  43  Korah  is  a  clan  of  Caleb.  These  clans 
may  have  been  originally  Edomite,  and  then  have  become  absorbed 
in  Israel,  or  may  have  been  divided  between  Israel  and  Edom. 

11.  Teman:    '  south,'  yet  commonly  placed  in  the  north-east 

of  Edom  ;  in  verse  42  a  l  duke  '  ;  frequently  mentioned  in  the  O.T. 

Omar,  Zepho,  and  Gatam  :  only  in  this  chapter  and  1  Chron. ; 


GENESIS  36.  12-18.     P  329 

And  Timna  was  concubine  to  Eliphaz  Esau's  son;  and  12 
she  bare  to  Eliphaz  Amalek  :  these  are  the  sons  of  Adah 
Esau's  wife.     And  these  are  the  sons  of  Reuel ;  Nahath,  13 
and  Zerah,  Shammah,  and  Mizzah :   these  were  the  sons 
of  Basemath  Esau's  wife.     And  these  were  the  sons  of  14 
Oholibamah   the   daughter   of    Anah,    the    daughter   of 
Zibeon,  Esau's  wife :  and  she  bare  to  Esau  Jeush,  and 
Jalam,  and  Korah.     These  are  the  dukes  of  the  sons  of  15 
Esau  :   the  sons  of  Eliphaz  the  firstborn  of  Esau  ;  duke 
Teman,   duke  Omar,   duke  Zepho,   duke   Kenaz,   duke  16 
Korah,  duke  Gatam,  duke  Amalek  :   these  are  the  dukes 
that  came  of  Eliphaz  in  the  land  of  Edom ;   these  are 
the  sons  of  Adah.     And  these  are  the  sons  of  Reuel  17 
Esau's  son ;  duke  Nahath,  duke  Zerah,  duke  Shammah, 
duke  Mizzah  :  these  are  the  dukes  that  came  of  Reuel  in 
the    land   of  Edom  •    these  are  the  sons   of  Basemath 
Esau's   wife.     And  these  are  the  sons  of  Oholibamah  18 
Esau's  wife ;    duke   Jeush,   duke  Jalam,   duke    Korah : 

'  dukes '  in  verses  15  and  16.  Zepho  is  Zephi  in  Chron.,  or 
according  to  LXX  Zophar,  which  is  probably  the  original  form, 
cf.  Zophar  in  Job. 

Kenaz  :  a  i  duke  '  in  42,  cf.  on  the  Kenizzites,  xv.  19. 

12.  Timna:  in  verse  22  and  1  Chron.  i.  39  a  daughter  of  Seir 
the  Horite  ;  in  verse  40  and  1  Chron.  i.  51  a  '  duke '  of  Edom  ; 
in  1  Chron.  i.  36  a  son  of  Eliphaz  ;  apparently  a  clan  sometimes 
reckoned  Edomite  and  sometimes  Horite. 

Amalek :  a  tribe  whose  main  seat  was  in  the  Sinaitic  desert ; 
frequently  mentioned  in  O.  T. 

13.  Nahath  .  .  .  Zerah  .  .  .  Shammah  .  .  .  Mizzah :  '  dukes ' 
in  verse  17.  Zerah  is  the  '  father  '  of  one  of  the  kings  of  Edom  in 
verse  33,  the  name  of  a  clan  of  Judah  in  xxxviii.  30,  and  of  a  clan 
of  Simeon  in  Num.  xxvi.  13  (cf.  verse  5).  Otherwise  these 
names  only  occur  in  this  chapter  and  1  Chron.  i.  37,  except  as  the 
names  of  individuals  not  connected  with  Edom. 

15.  dukes:  R.  V.  marg.  '  chiefs,'  15-19,  the  lists  of  these 
'dukes'  is  the  same  as  the  list  of  sons  and  grandsons  in  11-14 
(which  see).  '  Duke  '  in  A.  V.  meant  simply  '  chief.'  Verses  11-14 
are  probably  an  alternative  version  of  15-19. 


330  GENESIS  36.  19-23.     P 

these   are   the   dukes    that    came   of   Oholibamah    the 

19  daughter  of  Anah,  Esau's  wife.     These  are  the  sons  of 
Esau,  and  these  are  their  dukes :  the  same  is  Edom. 

20  These  are  the  sons  of  Seir  the  Horite,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land ;  Lotan  and  Shobal  and  Zibeon  and  Anah, 

21  and  Dishon  and  Ezer  and  Dishan  ■  these  are  the  dukes 
that  came  of  the  Horites,  the  children  of  Seir  in  the  land 

22  of  Edom.     And  the  children  of  Lotan  were  Hori  and 

23  Hemam;  and  Lotan's  sister  was  Timna.     And  these  are 
the  children  of  Shobal ;  Alvan  and  Manahath  and  Ebal, 

xxxvi.  20-30.  The  Horite  Clans.  Horite  clans  of  course  remained 
in  Edom  after  the  Edomites  settled  in  the  country  and  became  the 
ruling  race.     Verses  29,  30  repeat  verses  20,  21. 

20.  Seir  the  Horite.  See  xiv.  6.  The  district  Seir  in  this 
passage  becomes  the  eponymous  ancestor  of  the  Horites,  the 
oldest  known  inhabitants  of  the  land. 

Lotan  :  a  'duke'  in  verse  29,  only  in  this  chapter  and  1  Chron.  ; 
perhaps  another  form  of  Lot. 

Shobal:  a  'duke'  in  verse  29,  here  and  1  Chron.,  also  a  clan 
of  Caleb  or  Judah,  1  Chron.  ii.  50,  iv.  1,  &c.     Cf.  verse  5. 

Zibeon  and  Anab.     See  verse  2. 

21.  Dishon  and  Ezer  and  Dishan:  only  in  this  chapter  and 
1  Chron.  Dishon  and  Dishan  are  probably  accidental  repetitions 
of  the  same  name,  which  may  mean  'mountain-goat'  Inverse  25 
Dishon  is  the  grandson  of  Seir. 

22.  Hori:  rather  '  the  Horites,'  used  in  verses  20,  30  for  the 
whole  tribe  ;  here  for  the  first  family  of  the  first  clan.  Cf.  the  use 
of  two  equivalent  names  Angles  and  English  for  a  single  tribe  and 
for  a  group  of  tribes. 

Hemam  :  in  1  Chron.  l  Homam.' 
Timna.     See  verse  12. 

23.  Alvan  .  .  .  Manahath  .  .  .  Ebal  .  .  .  Shepho  .  .  .  Onam1. 
Alvan  and  Shepho  only  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  40  in  the  forms  Alian 
and  Shephi.  Alvan  is  another  form  of  the  Alvah  of  verse  40. 
Manahath  is  also  a  clan  and  city  of  Judah,  1  Chron.  ii.  52,  54, 
viii.  6,  cf.  verse  5.  Ebal,  which  has  no  connexion  with 
Mount  Ebal,  occurs  as  the  'son'  of  Joktan,  1  Chron.  i.  22,  in  the 
parallel  Gen.  x.  28  Obal  (which  see).  Onam,  also  a  Jerahmeelite 
clan  of  Judah,  1  Chron.  ii.  26,  perhaps  a  form  of  Onan,  the  son  of 
Judah,  Gen.  xxxviii.  4,  &c. 


1  See  N.  B.  p.  327. 


GENESIS  36.  24-30.     P  331 

Shepho   and   Onam.     And    these   are   the   children   of  24 
Zibeon  ;  Aiah  and  Anah :   this  is  Anah  who  found  the 
hot  springs  in  the  wilderness,  as  he  fed  the  asses  of 
Zibeon  his  father.     And  these  are  the  children  of  Anah  ;  25 
Dishon  and  Oholibamah  the  daughter  of  Anah.     And  26 
these  are  the  children  of  Dishon  ;  Hemdan  and  Eshban 
and  Ithran  and  Cheran.     These  are  the  children  of  Ezer  ;  27 
Bilhan  and  Zaavan  and  Akan.     These  are  the  children  of  28 
Dishan  ;  Uz  and  Aran.     These  are  the  dukes  that  came  29 
of  the  Horites ;  duke  Lotan,  duke  Shobal,  duke  Zibeon, 
duke  Anah,   duke  Dishon,   duke    Ezer,    duke    Dishan :  30 
these  are  the  dukes  that  came  of  the  Horites,  according 
to  their  dukes  in  the  land  of  Seir. 

24.  Aiah  =  '  falcon,'  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  40 ;  the  name  of  the 
father  of  Rizpah,  2  Sam.  iii.  7,  &c. 

Anah  who  found  the  hot  springs,  &c.  This  fragment  in 
the  form  of  personal  anecdote  is  a  curious  interruption  of  the 
list  of  names  ;  similar  fragments  are  found  amongst  the  genealogies 
at  the  beginning  of  Chronicles.  It  is  doubtless  a  remnant  of  some 
ancient  tradition  ;  but  unfortunately  is  no  longer  intelligible,  for 
which  reason,  perhaps,  it  is  omitted  in  Chronicles.  The  meaning 
of  the  word  translated  '  hot  springs/  A.  V.  '  mules,'  is  unknown. 
The  wording  reminds  us  of  Exod.  iii.  1  and  1  Sam.  ix.  1-3. 

25,  26.  Dishon  (Dishan).     See  verse  21. 

25.  Oholibamah.     See  verse  5. 

26.  Hemdan  .  .  .  Eshhan  .  .  .  Ithran  .  .  .  Cheran :  here  and 
1  Chron.  i.  41.  Hemdan  as  Hamran  in  Chronicles.  Ithran  also 
1  Chron.  vii.  37  as  a  clan  of  Asher,  cf.  verse  5.  Hemdan  may  h= 
'desirable,'  and  Yithran  'eminent.' 

27.  Bilhan  .  .  .  Zaavan  .  .  .  Akan:  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  42. 
Bilhan  also  occurs  as  a  clan  of  Benjamin,  with  a  '  son  '  Jeush, 
1  Chron.  vii.  10  ;  the  name  is  sometimes  supposed  to  be  a  form  of 
Bilhah,  see  verse  5  and  xxix.  29.  Akan  is  Jaakan  in  Chronicles, 
and  in  Deut.  x.  6  we  read  '  the  Israelites  journeyed  from  the 
Wells  of  the  Bene-Jaakan  to  Moserah  :  there  Aaron  died'  ;  in  the 
parallel  Num.  xxxiii.  31  there  is  simply  'Bene-Jaakan.' 

28.  Uz  .  .  .  Aran.  For  Uz  see  x.  23  ;  Aran,  here  and  1  Chron. 
i.  42.  Some  MSS.  and  versions  have  Aram,  see  x.  22.  Aran 
is  perhaps  the  same  as  Oren,  a  Jerahmeelite  clan  of  Judah, 
1  Chron.  ii.  25,  cf.  verse  5. 

29.  30  ==  20,  21. 


332  GENESIS  36.  31-35.     J 

31  [J]  And  these  are  the  kings  that  reigned  in  the  land  of 
Edom,  before  there  reigned  any  king  over  the  children 

32  of  Israel.     And  Bela  the  son  of  Beor  reigned  in  Edom ; 

33  and  the  name  of  his  city  was  Dinhabah.  And  Bela  died, 
and  Jobab  the  son  of  Zerah  of  Bozrah  reigned  in  his 

34  stead.     And  Jobab  died,  and  Husham  of  the  land  of  the 

35  Temanites  reigned  in  his  stead.  And  Husham  died,  and 
Hadad  the  son  of  Bedad,  who  smote  Midian  in  the  field 
of  Moab,  reigned  in  his  stead  :  and  the  name  of  his  city 


xxxvi.  31-39.  The  Kings  of  Edom  (J).  These  kings  are  commonly 
regarded  as  individuals  ;  as  each  of  them  has  a  different  capital, 
and  no  one  is  the  son  of  his  predecessor,  they  probably  corre- 
sponded to  the  judges  in  Israel,  and  were  really  chiefs  of  clans, 
rather  than  kings  of  the  whole  nation. 

31.  before  there  reigned  any  king*  over  the  children  of 
Israel.  An  indication  that  this  verse,  at  any  rate,  was  written 
after  the  time  of  Saul.  The  Hebrew,  however,  should  perhaps  be 
rendered  'before  any  king  belonging  to  the  Israelites  reigned 
[over  Edom1,'  i.e.  before  the  time  of  David,  2  Sam.  viii.  14;  cf. 
1  Kings  xxii.  47. 

32.  Bela  the  son  of  Beor  :  sometimes  identified  with  '  Balaam 
the  son  of  Beor.'  We  read  of  a  city,  Bela,  Gen.  xiv.  2,  and  of 
Benjamite  and  Reubenite  clans  bearing  the  name,  xlvi.  21, 
1  Chron.  v.  8. 

Dinhabah  ' :  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  43. 

33.  Jobab  the  son  of  Zerah  of  Bozrah  :  Jobab,  cf.  x.  29, 
Joshua  xi.  1,  perhaps  a  form  of  Job.  Zerah,  see  verse  13. 
Bozrah,  one  of  the  most  important  cities  of  Edom,  perhaps  the 
modern  el-Btiseireh  some  distance  north  of  Petra,  in  the  district 
south-east  of  the  Dead  Sea. 

34.  Htisham :  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  45  f. 
Temanites.     See  verse  11. 

35.  Hadad  the  son  of  Bedad,  who  smote  Midian,  &c.  Hadad 
is  the  name  of  a  Canaanite  and  Syrian  storm-god.  An  Edomite 
prince  Hadad  appears  in  the  reign  of  Solomon,  1  Kings  xi.  14. 
Ben-hadad,  Hadad-ezer,  &c.  are  also  names  of  Syrian  princes. 
Cf.  verse  39,  and  xxv.  15.  Bedad  is  perhaps  a  contraction  of 
Ben-hadad.  Midian,  see  xxv.  2.  Nothing  else  is  known  of 
this  war. 


1  See  N.  B.  p.  327. 


GENESIS  36.  36-40.     J  P  333 

was  Avith.     And  Hadad  died,  and  Samlah  of  Masrekah  36 
reigned  in  his  stead.     And  Samlah  died,  and  Shaul  of  37 
Rehoboth  by  the  River  reigned  in  his  stead.     And  Shaul  38 
died,   and    Baal-hanan    the    son   of  Achbor  reigned    in 
his  stead.     And   Baal-hanan   the   son  of  Achbor   died,  39 
and  Hadar  reigned  in  his  stead  :   and  the  name  of  his 
city  was   Pau ;    and   his   wife's   name   was   Mehetabel, 
the    daughter   of  Matred,    the   daughter   of  Me-zahab. 
[P]  And  these  are  the  names  of  the  dukes  that  came  of  40 

Avith:  here  and  1  Chron.  The  LXXhasGittaim,  2 Sam.  iv.  3. 

36.  Samlah  of  Masrekah  :  here  and  1  Chron.  Some  MSS.  of 
the  LXX  read  Salmah,  a  form  of  Solomon.  Masrekah  may  mean 
'  place  of  choice  vines.' 

37.  Shaul  of  Rehoboth  by  the  River.  The  name  is  identical 
in  Hebrew  with  that  of  the  Israelite  king  Saul.  It  is  also  the 
name  of  clans  of  Simeon  and  Levi,  xlvi.  10,  1  Chron.  vi.  24. 
For  Rehoboth  see  xxvi.  22  ;  it  has  nothing  to  ,do  with  the 
Assyrian  city  in  x.  11.  The  river  is  probably  the  river  of  Egypt, 
the  Wady  el  Arish,  running  from  the  north  of  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula 
into  the  Mediterranean  between  Pelusium  and  Gaza. 

39.  Baal-hanan  the  son  of  Achbor:  here  and  i  Chron.  Baal- 
hanan  (  =  '  Baal  is  gracious,'  a  synonym  of  Hannibal)  is  also  the 
name  of  an  official  of  David,  i  Chron.  xxvii.  28.  Achbor  ( =  mouse) 
also  the  name  of  certain  Israelites,  2  Kings  xxii.  12,  Jer.  xxvi.  22. 

Hadar:  we  should  probably  read  Hadad  with  r  Chron.  i.  50 
and  other  authorities.  Instead  of  his  father's  name,  we  have  the 
name  and  genealogy  of  his  wife,  perhaps  because  he  succeeded  in 
right  of  his  wife  1  ;  or  this  verse  may  have  come  originally  from 
a  source  other  than  that  used  in  the  preceding. 

Pau  :  1  Chron.  i.  50  '  Pai '  ;  we  should  probably  read  with 
LXX  Peor,  the  name  of  a  mountain  and  city  to  the  north-west  of 
the  Dead  Sea. 

Mehetabel  =  (  God  confers  benefits,'  here  and  1  Chron.,  also 
the  name  of  a  man  Neh.  vi.  10. 

Matred :  here  and  1  Chron. 

Me-zahab:  here  and  1  Chron.  The  name  as  now  written 
would  read  as  the  Hebrew  for  '  Waters  of  Gold.'  Cf.  however 
Di-zahab,  Deut.  i.  1.  Both  are  probably  corruptions  of  some 
foreign  name. 

xxxvi.  40-43.  The  '•dukes''  of  Esau.  For  the  most  part  a 
selection  of  names  from  previous  lists,  a  third  version  of  10-14. 

1  Gunkel. 


334  GENESIS  36.  41— 37.  1.     P 

Esau,  according  to  their  families,  after  their  places,  by 
their  names ;   duke  Timnah,  duke  Alvah,  duke  Jetheth ; 
-M.42duke  Oholibamah,  duke  Elah,  duke  Pinon ;  duke  Kenaz, 
43  duke  Teman,  duke  Mibzar ;   duke  Magdiel,  duke  Iram : 
these  be  the  dukes  of  Edom,  according  to  their  habita- 
tions in  the  land  of  their  possession.     This  is  Esau  the 
father  of  the  Edomites. 
37       And  Jacob  dwelt  in  the  land  of  his  father's  sojournings, 

40.  Timnah.      See  verse  12. 
Alvah.   See  Alvan,  verse  23. 

Jetheth.  Here  and  1  Chron.  i.  51.  Some  MSS.  of  LXX 
read  Jether,  the  name  of  clans  of  Judah  and  Asher,  1  Chron.  ii.  32, 
iv.  17,  vii.  38. 

41.  Oholibamah.     See  verse  2. 

Elah:  here  and  1  Chron.  i.  52,  a  common  Israelite  name; 
in  1  Chron.  iv.  15  the  name  of  a  clan  of  Caleb  (Judah). 

Pinon :  here  and  1  Chron.,  perhaps  the  name  of  a  place,  cf. 
Punon,  Num.  xxxiii.  42. 

42.  Kenaz  .  .  .  Teman.      See  verses  15,  16. 

43.  Mibzar:  perhaps  =  '  fortress,'  here  and  1  Chron.  ;  probably 
the  name  of  a  place. 

Magdiel  .  .  .  Iram  :   here  and  1  Chron. 

xxxvii ;  xxxix — 1.      The  Story  of  Joseph. 

The  general  outline  of  this  story  is  often  interpreted  as  tribal 
history.  The  tribe  Joseph  is  supposed  to  have  quarrelled  with 
the  other  tribes,  and  to  have  taken  refuge  in  Egypt.  Thither, 
later  on,  the  other  tribes  followed,  and  there  was  a  reconciliation. 
But  the  whole  of  this  detailed  story  cannot  be  tribal  history. 
Prof.  Cheyne  l  holds  the  following  view  : — '  There  are  five  distinct 
elements  in  our  present  Joseph-story  :— (1)  the  transformed 
tradition  of  a  sojourn  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph  in  Egypt ;  (2)  the 
tradition,  true  in  essential,  of  a  Hebrew  vizier  under  Khu-en-aten2; 
(3)  the  story  of  Joseph  and  Potiphar's  wife,  &c.  (an  imaginative 
appendage)  ;  (4)  the  narrative  (not  historical)  connecting  the 
changed  agrarian  law  of  Egypt  with  Khu-en-aten's  vizier  ;  (5)  the 
narrative  (also  unhistorical <  of  the  sojourn  of  the  other  "sons"  of 
Israel  in  Egypt.'  Prof.  Cheyne,  following  Winckler,  seems  inclined 
to  identify  the  '  Hebrew  vizier'  with  an  Egyptian  official  Yanhamu 
mentioned    in    the    Amarna   Tablets.      On   the  other   hand,    the 

1  Encycl.  Bibl. 

2  Amenophis  IV,  of  the  Amarna  Tablets,  c.  B.C.  1400. 


GENESIS  37.  2.     P  J 


335 


in  the  land  of  Canaan.     These  are  the  generations  of  2 
Jacob.     Joseph,    being   seventeen   years   old,    [J]   was 

author1  of  the  latest  important  commentary  on  Genesis  considers 
that  the  chapters  on  Joseph  consist  of  a  number  of  legends,  mostly 
from  Eg3'ptian  and  other  foreign  sources,  set  in  a  framework  of 
tribal  history. 

The  character  of  Joseph  is  described  in  much  greater  detail 
than  that  of  the  other  patriarchs,  and  special  stress  is  laid  on  its 
moral  features  ;  e.  g.  his  chastity  and  his  affection  for  Jacob  and 
Benjamin. 

The  story  of  Daniel  is  partly  based  on  that  of  Joseph.  Daniel 
also  is  a  captive  in  a  foreign  land,  and  becomes  vizier  by  inter- 
preting the  king's  dream. 

xxxvii.  Joseph  sold  into  Egypt  (JE2). 

xxxvii.  1.  (P)  Jacob  settles  in  Canaan. 

xxxvii.  2  a3.  (P)  The  heading  of  the  Priestly  account  of  Jacob's 
family. 


2b4~4.  Joseph  tells  tales  of 
his  brethren  ;  he  is  his  father's 
favourite,  and  his  father  gives 
him  a  princely  robe. 

His  brethren  hate  him. 

12,  13  a 5.  Israel  sends  him 
to  his  brothers  at  Shechem. 

14  bs.  He  comes  to  Shechem. 

18.  They  conspire  to  kill  him. 


2i.  Judah  9  saves  his  life. 


up 

the 

pit! 

/an 
9 

'ev 
acl 

1  Gunke 
4  From  f 
6  From  ' 
8  From  f 
~10  As  far 

2  Mostly, 
was  feeding.' 
and  he  said.' 
So  he  sent.' 
as  '  eat  bread/ 

5-1 1.  Joseph  dreams  that  he 
will  be  chief  amongst  his 
brethren,  and  even  over  his 
parents. 

His  brethren  envy  him. 

13  b 6,  14  a ''.  His  father  sends 
him  to  his  brothers. 

15-17.  He  finds  them  at 
Dothan. 

19,  20.  They  propose  to  kill 
the  dreamer,  throw  the  body 
into  a  pit.  and  say  that  he  has 
been  eaten  by  a  wild  beast. 

22-25  a1".  Reuben  persuades 
them  to  put  him  in  the  pit  alive, 
intending  to  take  him  out  and 
send  him  home.  They  take  off 
the  princely  robe,  and  put  him 
in  the  pit. 


As  far  as  •  seventeen  years  old. 
5  As  far  as  '  unto  them.' 
7  As  far  as  '  again.' 
9  See  note  on  this  verse. 


336  GENESIS  37.  2.     J 

\  feeding  the  flock  with  his  brethren ;   and  he  was  a  lad 
■with  the  sons  of  Bilhah,  and  with  the  sons  of  Zilpah,  his 

X                      J  E 

,25  6-27  *,  28  b 2.  The  brothers,  28  a3.   Midianite  traders  take 

by  Judah's  advice,  sell  Joseph  Joseph  out  of  the  pit. 
to  the  Ishmaelites. 

28  c.  They  take  him  to  Egypt 
(cf.  xxxix.)  (J). 

29,  30.  Reuben  finds  the  pit 
empty. 

31.    The   brothers    stain    the 
robe  with  goat's  blood. 

32  a4.  The  brothers  send  the  32  66-33a6.  They  bring  the 
robe  [to  Israel].  robe  to  their  father,  who  con- 

33  b  \  Who  concludes  that  eludes  that  Joseph  has  been 
Joseph  is  torn  in  pieces.  eaten  ^  a  wlld  beast 

35.  His  father  mourns  for  him.  34.  Jacob  mourns  for  him. 

36.  The  Midianites  sell  Joseph 
to  Potiphar. 

Sources,  &c.  The  above  analysis,  in  its  leading  features,  is  very 
generally  adopted  ;  there  cannot  of  course  be  certainty  as  to  all 
the  details.  The  table  of  the  analysis  will  help  the  reader  to 
recognize  the  many  repetitions.  The  characteristics  of  J  are  that 
the  father  is  called  Israel ;  Joseph  incurs  his  brothers'  resentment 
by  telling  tales;  they  meet  at  Shechem  ;  Judah  8  befriends  him; 
the  brethren  sell  him  to  Ishmaelites.  In  E  the  father  is  called 
Jacob  ;  Joseph  incurs  his  brothers'  resentment  by  his  dreams  of 
pre-eminence ;  they  meet  at  Dothan ;  Reuben  befriends  him ; 
his  brethren  put  him  in  a  pit,  from  which  he  is  taken  by  Midianites. 
The  '  princely  robe '  seems  to  be  a  feature  of  both  documents. 

The  friendship  with  Judah  or  Reuben  might  be  explained  as 
tribal  alliances,  the  favouritism  as  an  early  pre-eminence  of  th> 
tribe  of  Joseph.     Cf.  above,  p.  334.  ;e 

2.  the  generations  of  Jacob,  the  heading  of  a  new  section  of  le  r\ 
the  sons  of  Bilhah  .  .  .  the  sons  of  Zilpah  .  .  .  the  ev*-e  in 
report  of  them.    Bilhah  and  Zilpah  the  two  concubines.    Quarre^  Iss 

d 

u 
1  From  'and  they  lifted  up.'  2  From  'and  sold,'  to  ' silve>ie ,J ' 

3  As  far  as  '  pit.'  4  As  far  as  'colours.'  — 

5  From  '  and  they  brought,'  6   As  far  as  *  devoured  him     ..' 

7  From  'Joseph.'  8  Cf.  note  on  verse  21. 


GENESIS  37.  3-9-     J  E  337 

father's  wives :   and  Joseph  brought  the  evil  report  of 
them  unto  their  father.     Now  Israel  loved  Joseph  more  3 
than  all  his  children,  because  he  was  the  son  of  his  old 
age :   and  he  made  him  a  coat  of  many  colours.     And  4 
his  brethren  saw  that  their  father  loved  him  more  than 
all  his  brethren ;   and  they  hated  him,  and  could  not 
speak  peaceably  unto  him.     [E]  And  Joseph  dreamed  a  5 
dream,  and  he  told  it  to  his  brethren  :  and  they  hated 
him  yet  the  more.     And  he  said  unto  them,  Hear,  I  pray  6 
you,  this  dream  which  I  have  dreamed :  for,  behold,  we  7 
were  binding  sheaves  in  the  field,  and,   lo,  my  sheaf 
arose,  and  also  stood  upright ;  and,  behold,  your  sheaves 
came  round  about,  and  made  obeisance  to  my  sheaf. 
And  his  brethren  said  to  him,  Shalt  thou  indeed  reign  8 
over  us  ?  or  shalt  thou  indeed  have  dominion  over  us  ? 
And  they  hated  him  yet  the  more  for  his  dreams,  and 
for  his  words.     And  he  dreamed  yet  another  dream,  and  9 
told  it  to  his  brethren,  and  said,  Behold,  I  have  dreamed 
yet  a  dream;   and,  behold,  the  sun  and  the  moon  and 

would  often  arise  between  the  children  of  a  favourite  wife  and  the 
children  of  wives  of  inferior  status,  cf.  the  cases  of  Ishmael  and 
Jephthah.  There  is  no  further  separate  reference  to  these  'sons.' 
The  'evil  report'  would  be  the  'report  of  their  evil  doings.'  If 
this  had  to  be  interpreted  as  tribal  history,  it  might  be  understood 
of  some  controversy. 

3.  the  son  of  his  old  ag-e :  the  latest  born  except  Benjamin. 
Chapter  xxx.  25  does  not  suggest  that  Joseph  was  much  younger 
than  his  brethren.  Probably  before  the  Joseph  story  was  taken 
up  by  J  and  E  it  was  independent  of  the  accounts  of  the  births  of 
the  Patriarchs. 

a  coat  of  many  colours:  a  mistranslation  adopted  from  the 
LXX  ;  the  correct  rendering  is  that  of  R.  V.  marg., '  a  long  garment 
with  sleeves,'  such  as  that  worn  b}^  persons  of  distinction,  e.  g. 
Tamar  the  daughter  of  David  l. 

9.  sun  .  .  .  moon  .  .  .  eleven  stars :  '  father  .  .  .  mother  .  .  . 
eleven  brothers,'  as  in  the  next  verse.  Joseph's  own  mother, 
Rachel,  was  dead  according  to  xxxv.  19.  but  cf.  on  verse  3. 

1  2  Sam.  xiii.  18,  19. 
Z 


338  GENESIS  37.  10-20.     E  J  E  J  E  J  E 

10  eleven  stars  made  obeisance  to  me.  And  he  told  it  to 
his  father,  and  to  his  brethren ;  and  his  father  rebuked 
him,  and  said  unto  him,  What  is  this  dream  that  thou 
hast  dreamed  ?  Shall  I  and  thy  mother  and  thy  brethren 
indeed   come   to  bow  down   ourselves   to  thee  to  the 

11  earth?   And  his  brethren  envied  him;    but  his  father 

12  kept  the  saying  in  mind.     [J]  And  his  brethren  went 

13  tt^  feed  their  father's  flock  in  Shechem.  And  Israel  said 
unto  Joseph,  Do  not  thy  brethren  feed  the  flock  in 
Shechem?  come,  and  I  will  send  thee  unto  them.     [E] 

14  And  he  said  to  him,  Here  am  I.  And  he  said  to  him, 
Go  now,  see  whether  it  be  well  with  thy  brethren,  and 
well  with  the  flock ;  and  bring  me  word  again.  [J]  So 
he  sent  him  out  of  the  vale  of  Hebron,  and  he  came  to 

15  Shechem.  [E]  And  a  certain  man  found  him,  and, 
behold,  he  was  wandering  in  the  field :  and  the  man 

16  asked  him,  saying,  What  seekest  thou?  And  he  said,  I 
seek  my  brethren :   tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  where  they  are 

17  feeding  the  flock.  And  the  man  said,  They  are  departed 
hence :  for  I  heard  them  say,  Let  us  go  to  Dothan. 
And  Joseph  went  after  his  brethren,  and  found  them  in 

18  Dothan.  And  they  saw  him  afar  off,  [J]  and  before  he 
came  near  unto  them,  they  conspired  against  him  to  slay 

19  him.     [E]  And  they  said  one  to  another,  Behold,  this 

20  dreamer  cometh.  Come  now  therefore,  and  let  us  slay 
him,  and  cast  him  into  one  of  the  pits,  and  we  will  say, 

15.  a  certain  man:  possibly  in  the  original  story  an  appearance 
of  a  deity1 ;  cf.  xviii.  1,  xxxii.  24. 

\*7.  Dothan.  A  hill  a  few  miles  north  of  Shechem  still  bears  this 
name  ;  perhaps  one  version  of  this  story  was  told  at  a  sanctuary 
at  Dothan,  the  other  at  Shechem. 

19.  dreamer :  quite  the  right  English  equivalent  of  the  Hebrew 
phrase  'master  of  dreams.'1 

1    Holzinger. 


GENESIS  37.  21-27.     E  JEJ  339 

An  evil  beast  hath  devoured  him  :  and  we  shall  see  what 
will  become  of  his  dreams.     [J]  And  Reuben  heard  it,  21 
and  delivered  him  out  of  their  hand ;  and  said,  Let  us 
not  take  his  life.     [E]   And   Reuben   said  unto  them,  22 
Shed  no  blood;   cast  him  into  this  pit  that  is  in  the 
wilderness,  but  lay  no  hand  upon  him :   that  he  might 
deliver  him  out  of  their  hand,  to  restore  him  to  his  father. 
And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Joseph  was  come  unto  his  23 
brethren,  that  they  stript  Joseph  of  his  coat,  the  coat"  of 
many  colours  that  was  on  him ;  and  they  took  him,  and  24 
cast  him  into  the  pit :   and  the  pit  was  empty,  there  was 
no  water  in  it.     And  they  sat  down  to  eat  bread  :  [J]  and  25 
they  lifted  up  their  eyes  and  looked,   and,   behold,   a 
travelling   company  of  Ishmaelites   came  from  Gilead, 
with  their  camels  bearing  spicery  and  balm  and  myrrh, 
going  to  carry  it  down  to  Egypt.     And  Judah  said  unto  26 
his  brethren,  What  profit  is  it  if  we  slay  our  brother  and 
conceal  his  blood?    Come,  and  let  us  sell  him  to  the  27 

21.  Reuben.  It  seems  probable,  in  view  of  the  rest  of  the 
analysis,  that  in  this  passage  as  it  stood  in  J  the  friendly  brother 
was  Judah,  and  that  Reuben  has  been  substituted  for  Judah  in 
this  verse  by  a  copyist  or  editor. 

22.  Shed  no  blood.  A  superstitious  casuistry  felt  that  to  leave 
a  man  to  starve  to  death  was  a  less  heinous  crime  than  to  cut 
his  throat. 

24.  pit :  an  empty  cistern. 

25.  travelling1  company :  caravan. 

from  Gilead.  The  caravan  route  from  Gilead  to  Egypt  passed 
by  Dothan. 

spicery:  R.V.  marg.,  'gum  tragacanth,  or  storax.'  Traga- 
canth  is  'the  resinous  gum  of  the  Astragalus  gummifer^.'  For 
storax  see  on  xxx.  37. 

balm:  R.V.  marg.,  'mastic.'  The  mastic  is  a  tree  yielding 
a  kind  of  resin. 

myrrh:  R.V.  marg.,  'ladanum.'  ' Ladanum  is  a  resinous 
exudation  of  a  low  shrub  of  the  order  Cistuiae2.' 

26.  and  conceal  his  blood,  i.  e.  '  even  if  we  are  not  found  out.' 

1  EncycL  Biblica.  2  Dr.  Hastings'  Bible  Diet. 


34o      GENESIS  37.  28-35.     JEJEJEJEJ 

Ishmaelites,  and  let  not  our  hand  be  upon  him ;  for  he 
is  our  brother,  our  flesh.     And  his  brethren  hearkened 

28  unto  him.  [E]  And  there  passed  by  Midianites,  mer- 
chantmen ;  and  they  drew  and  lifted  up  Joseph  out  of 
the  pit,  [J]  and  sold  Joseph  to  the  Ishmaelites  for  twenty 
pieces  of  silver.     [E]   And   they  brought  Joseph   into 

29  Egypt.  And  Reuben  returned  unto  the  pit ;  and,  be- 
hold, Joseph  was  not  in  the  pit ;  and  he  rent  his  clothes. 

30  And  he  returned  unto  his  brethren,  and  said,  The  child 

31  is  not;  and  I,  whither  shall  I  go?  And  they  took 
Joseph's  coat,  and  killed  a  he-goat,  and  dipped  the  coat 

32  in  the  blood ;  [J]  and  they  sent  the  coat  of  many 
colours,  [E]  and  they  brought  it  to  their  father;  and 
said,  This  have  we  found :  know  now  whether  it  be  thy 

33  son's  coat  or  not.  And  he  knew  it,  and  said,  It  is  my 
son's  coat ;  an  evil  beast  hath  devoured  him  ;  [J]  Joseph 

34  is  without  doubt  torn  in  pieces.  [E]  And  Jacob  rent  his 
garments,  and  put  sackcloth  upon  his  loins,  and  mourned 

35  for  his  son  many  days.  [J]  And  all  his  sons  and  all  his 
daughters  rose  up  to  comfort  him  ;  but  he  refused  to  be 
comforted ;  and  he  said,  For  I  will  go  down  to  the  grave 


Possibly  there  is  the  further  idea  that  if  the  blood  were  covered  it 
would  not  *  cry  to  heaven,'  and  the  murderers  would  enjoy  absolute 
impunity:  cf.  iv.  10,  11  ;  Job  xvi.  18. 

28.  twenty  pieces  of  silver,  i.  e.  shekels.  See  on  xx.  16.  In 
Lev.  xxvii.  5  a  youth  between  five  and  twenty  consecrated  to 
Yahweh  may  be  redeemed  by  the  payment  of  twenty  shekels. 

30.  child1  :  better  Mad.'     See  on  xxi.  14. 

35.  his  daughters.  Hitherto  the  only  daughter  mentioned  has 
been  Dinah. 

the  grave:  rather,  as  R.  V.  marg.,  'Sheol,  the  name  of  the 
abode  of  the  dead,  answering  to  the  Greek  Hades,  Acts  ii.  27.' 
In  Sheol  the  dead  were  thought  of  as  still  conscious,  but  living 
a  feeble,  shadowy,  ghostlike  life  ;  see  the  descriptions  of  Sheol, 
Isa.  xiv.  4-23  ;  Ezek.  xxxii.  17-32. 

1  Yeled. 


GENESIS   37.  36— 38.  1.     JE  J  341 

to  my  son  mourning.     And  his  father  wept  for  him. 
[E]    And   the    Midianites    sold    him    into    Egypt    unto  36 
Potiphar,    an   officer  of  Pharaoh's,    the  captain  of  the 
guard. 

[J]  And  it  came  to  pass  at  that  time,  that  Judah  went  38 

36.  Midianites.  The  Hebrew  has  '  Medanites,'  which  must  be 
as  R.  V.  takes  it,  an  alternative  spelling  of  'Midianites.' 

Potipliar:  LXX,  '  Petephres,'  probably  the  same  as  the 
Potiphera  (LXX,  '  Petephres  ')  of  xli.  45,  &c.  ;  the  latter  would  be 
an  exact  reproduction  of  an  Egyptian  name  P'dyp'R',  meaning  '  He 
whom  the  Sun-god  (Ra)  gave.'  The  name  is  said  not  to  occur  in 
Egyptian  inscriptions  earlier  than  b.  c.  950,  about  the  time  of 
Solomon,  but  to  be  common  in  later  times.  In  J  Potiphar,  under 
the  name  of  Potiphera,  is  Joseph's  father-in-law,  see  on  xli.  45. 

officer:  strictly  'eunuch,'  but  if  Potiphar  was  married1  the 
word  is  used  here  in  its  wider  sense  of  '  court  official.' 

captain  of  the  giiard  :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Heb.  chief  of  the  execu- 
tioners.' The  'executioners'  might  also  be  the  bodyguard,  and 
so  naturally  the  keepers  of  the  guard-house  or  prison  2.  But  the 
translation  usually  accepted  is  'chief  of  the  butchers,'  cf.  the  chief 
butler  and  chief  baker  of  xl.  1.  It  might  be  the  title  of  the 
'superintendent  of  the  royal  kitchen.' 

xxxviii.  The  Story  of  Tamar  (J). 

xxxviii.  1-5.  Judah  marries  a  Canaanite  woman,  who  bears 
him  three  sons,  Er,  Onan,  and  Shelah. 

xxxviii.  6,  7.  Er  marries  Tamar  ;  Yahweh  slays  him  because 
he  was  wicked. 

xxxviii.  8-10.  According  to  the  Levirate  law,  Onan  marries 
Tamar,  but  when  he  fails  in  his  duty  to  her  Yahweh  slays  him. 

xxxviii.  11-30.  When  Tamar  perceived  that  the  Levirate  law 
was  not  to  be  carried  out  by  marrying  her  to  Shelah,  she  arranges 
by  a  stratagem  that  she  shall  bear  a  child  to  Judah  ;  she  bears 
twins,  Perez  and  Zerah. 

Sources,  &c.  This  chapter  is  generally  regarded  as  tribal  history, 
elaborated  by  the  skill  of  the  historian  in  the  form  of  popular 
tradition.  The  birth  of  sons  to  Judah  b3'  a  Canaanite  woman 
means  that  the  tribe  of  Judah  absorbed  Canaanite  (?  Edomite) 
clans,  a  fact  established  by  other  evidence  3.     The  clans  at  first 

'   xxxix.  1,  7,  but  see  notes  on  these  verses.  2  xl.  3. 

3  Judges  i.  16,  &c. 


342  GENESIS  38.  2-5.     J 

down    from   his   brethren,   and  turned    in    to  a  certain 

2  Adullamite,   whose  name  was  Hirah.     And  Judah  saw 
there  a  daughter  of  a  certain  Canaanite  whose  name  was 

3  Shua ;   and  he  took  her,  and  went  in  unto  her.     And 
she  conceived,  and  bare  a  son ;  and  he  called  his  name 

4  Er.     And  she  conceived  again,  and  bare  a  son  ;  and  she 

5  called  his  name  Onan.     And  she  yet  again  bare  a  son, 

prominent,  Er  and  Onan,  were  thus  partly  or  wholly  Canaanite  ; 
and — in  the  judgement  of  later  times — were  '  wicked,'  and 
were  destroyed  in  some  disaster.  The  tribe  was  restored  to  its 
full  strength  by  the  formation  of  two  new  clans,  Perez  and  Zerah, 
partly  formed  from  the  remnants  of  Er  and  Onan  ;  or,  as  the  story 
puts  it,  born  from  the  wife  of  Er. 

Such  narratives  as  these  are  the  natural  result  of  the  adoption 
of  the  genealogy  as  a  form  of  stating  tribal  relationships.  A  genea- 
logy implies  marriage  and  birth,  so  that  any  special  features  in 
the  relationship  of  tribes  would  be  set  forth  by  means  of  the  figure 
of  marriage  and  birth  in  exceptional  circumstances.  The  period 
of  history  referred  to  is  probably  that  of  the  Judges. 

1.  Judah.  went  down  from  his  brethren.  In  the  earlier  part 
of  the  period  of  the  Judges  Judah  was  separated  from  the  northern 
tribes.  In  Judges  i.  1-20  Judah  and  Simeon  act  independently, 
and  Judah  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Song  of  Deborah. 

Adullamite.  Adullam  is  now  generally  placed  to  the  north- 
west of  Hebron. 

Hirah :  only  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  perhaps  the  name 
of  a  tribe.  Note  that  Hirah  was  a  man,  not  a  woman,  see 
verses  20,  ax. 

2.  Canaanite :  a  general  term  in  J  for  the  non-Israelite  in- 
habitants of  Palestine. 

Shua :  in  i  Chron.  ii.  3  Bath-shua ;  not  found  elsewhere. 
An  almost  identical  name  occurs  1  Chron.  vii.  32  for  a  clan  of 
Asher.  The  Shuah  of  xxv.  2  is  a  different  word.  In  1  Chron.  iii.  5 
Bath-shua  is  given  as  the  equivalent  of  Bath-sheba,  the  mother  of 
Solomon.  The  use  of 'shua'  to  form  names,  Elishua,  &c,  suggests 
that  it  may  have  been  originally  the  name  of  a  deity.  A  tribe  is 
probably  intended. 

3.  and  he  called:  rather,  with  Samaritan-Hebrew  text,  &c, 
'  and  she.' 

Er.  In  1  Chron.  iv.  21  a  '  son  '  or  division  of  Shelah,  i.  e.  Er, 
once  the  leading  clan,  became  merged  in  Shelah.  The  name 
Er  also  occurs  in  the  genealogy  of  Joseph,  Luke  iii.  28. 

4.  Onan :    perhaps  the  same  as  Onam  mentioned  in  xxxvi.  23 


GENESIS  38.  6-n.     J  343 

and  called  his  name  Shelah  :  and  he  was  at  Chezib,  when 
she  bare  him.     And  Judah  took  a  wife  for  Er  his  first-   6 
born,    and    her    name   was    Tamar.     And    Er,    Judah's    7 
firstborn,  was  wicked  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the 
Lord  slew  him.     And  Judah  said  unto  Onan,  Go  in   8 
unto  thy  brother's  wife,   and  perform  the  duty  of  an 
husband's  brother  unto  her,  and  raise  up  seed  to  thy 
brother.     And  Onan  knew  that  the  seed  should  not  be   9 
his ;   and  it  came  to  pass,  when  he   went  in   unto  his 
brother's  wife,  that  he  spilled  it  on  the  ground,  lest  he 
should  give  seed  to  his  brother.     And  the  thing  which  10 
he  did  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lcrd  :   and  he  slew 
him  also.     Then  said  Judah  to  Tamar  his  daughter  in  11 
I    law,  Remain  a  widow  in  thy  father's  house,  till  Shelah 
my  son  be  grown  up  ;   for  he  said,  Lest  he  also  die,  like 
his  brethren.     And  Tamar  went  and  dwelt  in  her  father's 


as  a  Horite  clan;  in  i  Chron.  ii.  26  as  a  clan  of  Jerahmeel  (Judah); 
cf.  on  xxxvi.  5. 

5.  Shelah  :  a  name  very  similar  to  Shiloh,  but  it  does  not  seem 
likely  that  Judah  ever  held  Shiloh  (cf.,  however,  xlix.    10).     In 

1  Chron.  iv.  21-23  there  is  a  hopelessly  obscure  account  of  the 
clans  of  Shelah,  in  which  the  name  Jashubi-lehem  may  perhaps 
indicate  that  this  clan  held  Beth-lehem. 

Chezib  :    site    uncertain,    probably   the    Cozeba    mentioned 
in  1  Chron.  iv.  22  as  one  of  the  cities  of  Shelah. 

6.  Tamar  =  date-palm,  also  the  name  of  a  daughter  of  David, 

2  Sam.  xiii.  1 ;  and  of  a  daughter  of  Absalom,  2  Sam.  xiv.  27  ;  and 
of  a  city  in  Judah,  Ezek.  xlvii.  19.  Tamar  may  be  the  name 
of  a  clan,  but  it  is  quite  probable  that  it  is  the  corruption  of  some 
less  familiar  name  \ 

8.  perforin  the  duty  of  an  husband's  brother,  i.  e.  marry  the 
deceased  brother's  wife,  Deut.  xxv.  5  ;   cf.  Ruth  iii,  iv. 

11.  Lest  he  also  die.  Cf.  Tobit  iii.  8,  where  marriage  with 
Sarah  proved  fatal  to  seven  husbands  in  succession. 


1  So  Cheyne,  '  Judah,'  Encycl.  Biblica.  We  cannot,  however, 
follow  Cheyne  in  thinking  that  there  are  sufficient  grounds  for 
supposing  that  the  original  name  was  Jerahmeel. 


344  GENESIS  38.  12-19.     J 

12  house.  And  in  process  of  time  Shua's  daughter,  the 
wife  of  Judah,  died;  and  Judah  was  comforted,  and 
went  up  unto  his  sheepshearers  to  Timnah,  he  and  his 

13  friend  Hirah  the  Adullamite.  And  it  was  told  Tamar, 
saying,  Behold,  thy  father  in  law  goeth  up  to  Timnah  to 

14  shear  his  sheep.  And  she  put  off  from  her  the  garments 
of  her  widowhood,  and  covered  herself  with  her  veil,  and 
wrapped  herself,  and  sat  in  the  gate  of  Enaim,  which  is 
by  the  way  to  Timnah ;  for  she  saw  that  Shelah  was 
grown  up,   and  she  was  not  given  unto  him  to  wife. 

15  When  Judah  saw  her,  he  thought  her  to  be  an  harlot; 

16  for  she  had  covered  her  face.  And  he  turned  unto  her 
by  the  way,  and  said,  Go  to,  I  pray  thee,  let  me  come  in 
unto  thee :  for  he  knew  not  that  she  was  his  daughter  in 
law.     And  she  said,  What  wilt  thou  give  me,  that  thou 

17  mayest  come  in  unto  me?  And  he  said,  I  will  send  thee 
a  kid  of  the  goats  from  the  flock.     And  she  said,  Wilt 

18  thou  give  me  a  pledge,  till  thou  send  it?  And  he  said, 
What  pledge  shall  I  give  thee  ?  And  she  said,  Thy  signet 
and  thy  cord,  and  thy  staff  that  is  in  thine  hand.  And 
he  gave  them  to  her,  and  came  in  unto  her,  and  she 

19  conceived  by  him.     And  she  arose,  and  went  away,  and 

12.  the  wife  of  Judah  died  :  a  feature  introduced  to  make 
Judah's  subsequent  conduct  less  offensive. 

Timnah.  There  are  three  or  more  Timnahs  in  the  O.T., 
probably  represented  by  the  various  Tibnes  in  modern  Palestine 
This  one  may  have  been  on  the  northern  frontier  of  Judab. 

14.  covered  herself  with  her  veil,  and  wrapped  herself: 
probably  =  assumed  the  recognized  dress  of  a  prostitute ;  cf. 
verse  15. 

Enaim:  'Wells,'  probably  the  Enam  of  Joshua  xv.  34  ;  site 
unknown. 

18.  signet  .  .  .  cord  .  .  .  staff:  objects  personal  to  their  owner; 
the  possession  of  these  by  Tamar  would  show  that  she  had  had 
relations  with  Judah.  The  cord  was  probably  the  cord  by  which 
the  signet-ring  was  hung  round  the  neck  ;  the  staff  would  be 
carved  or  jewelled  in  some  characteristic  fashion. 


GENESIS   38.  20-26.     J  345 

put  off  her  veil  from  her,  and  put  on  the  garments  of  her 
widowhood.     And  Judah  sent  the  kid  of  the  goats  by  20 
the  hand  of  his  friend  the  Adullamite,   to  receive  the 
pledge  from  the  woman's  hand  :   but  he  found  her  not. 
Then  he  asked  the  men  of  her  place,  saying,  Where  is  21 
the  harlot,   that  was  at  Enaim  by  the  way  side?  And 
they  said,   There  hath  been  no  harlot   here.     And   he  22 
returned  to  Judah,  and  said,  I  have  not  found  her ;  and 
also  the  men  of  the  place   said,   There   hath  been   no 
harlot  here.     And  Judah  said,   Let  her  take  it  to  her,  23 
lest  we  be  put  to  shame :  behold,  I  sent  this  kid,  and 
thou  hast  not  found  her.     And  it  came  to  pass  about  24 
three  months  after,  that  it  was  told  Judah,  saying,  Tamar 
thy  daughter  in  law  hath  played  the  harlot ;  and  more- 
over,   behold,    she    is   with    child    by  whoredom.     And 
Judah    said,    Bring   her   forth,    and    let    her   be   burnt. 
When  she  was  brought  forth,  she  sent  to  her  father  in  25 
law,  saying,   By  the  man,  whose  these  are,  am  I  with 
child :    and  she  said,   Discern,    I  pray  thee,   whose  are 
these,   the  signet,  and  the  cords,   and  the  staff.     And  26 
Judah  acknowledged  them,  and  said,  She  is  more  right- 

21=  harlot1:  R.V.  marg.,  <Heb.  kedeshah  [lit.  'a.  holy  woman'], 
*  that  is,  a  woman  dedicated  to  impure  heathen  worship.  See 
Deut.  xxiii.  17,  Hos.  iv.  14.'  Such  women  were  attached  to 
many  sanctuaries,  especially  to  those  of  Istar  in  Babylonia  and 
Astarte  in  Syria.  The  sacrifice  of  chastity,  as  the  greatest 
sacrifice  a  woman  could  make,  was  supposed  to  be  an  act  of 
special  devotion  to  the  goddess.     Cf.  on  xix.  30-38. 

24.  Juclah  said  .  .  .  let  her  he  hurnt.  As  his  daughter-in-law 
she  was  under  his  authorit}'.  Technically,  cf.  verse  11,  she  was 
betrothed  to  Shelah,  and  a  breach  of  the  betrothal  was  almost  as 
heinous  as  a  breach  of  a  marriage.  Burning  alive  is  mentioned  in 
Lev.  xxi.  9  as  the  punishment  of  a  woman  of  priestly  famity  in 
such  cases  ;  ordinary  women  were  to  be  stoned,  Lev.  xxi.  10. 
Here  we  have  an  older  usage. 

1  A  different  word  from  that  used  in  verse  15. 


346  GENESIS  38.  27—39.  1.     J 

eous  than  I ;  forasmuch  as  I  gave  her  not  to  Shelah  my 

27  son.  And  he  knew  her  again  no  more.  And  it  came 
to  pass  in  the  time  of  her  travail,  that,  behold,  twins 

28  were  in  her  womb.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  she 
travailed,  that  one  put  out  a  hand  :  and  the  midwife 
took  and  bound  upon  his  hand  a  scarlet  thread,  saying, 

29  This  came  out  first.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  drew 
back  his  hand,  that,  behold,  his  brother  came  out :  and 
she  said,  Wherefore  hast  thou  made  a  breach  for  thyself? 

30  therefore  his  name  was  called  Perez.  And  afterward 
came  out  his  brother,  that  had  the  scarlet  thread  upon 
his  hand :  and  his  name  was  called  Zerah. 

39      And    Joseph    was    brought    down    to    Egypt ;     and 

27-30.  Apparently  the  story  of  the  birth  of  Jacob  and  Esau 
in  another  form  and  with  different  names  ;   cf.  xxv.  24-26. 

28.  a  scarlet  thread.  Either  the  name  of  the  son  was  origin- 
ally different  from  Zerah,  and  was  similar  to  the  words  for 
'scarlet  thread';  or  'scarlet  thread'  would  suggest  some  word 
similar  to  Zerah. 

29.  Wherefore  hast  thou  made  a  "breach?  (R.V.  marg.,  'How 
hast  thou  made  a  breach  !  a  breach  be  upon  thee  !')...  Perez, 
i.  e.  '  Breach.'  The  Bene  Perez  are  mentioned,  Neh.  xi.  6,  as  living 
at  Jerusalem  after  the  Return.  The  birth  of  Perez  is  referred  to 
in  Ruth  iv,  12  ;  and  according  to  Ruth  iv.  18,  Matt.  i.  3  (cf. 
Luke  iii.  33  >,  Perez  was  an  ancestor  of  David  and  therefore  of  our 
Lord.  Perez  was  originally  a  clan-name,  and  occurs  as  an  element 
in  Baal-perazim,  and  Perez-uzza.  The  meaning  of  the  name,  and 
perhaps  also  its  original  form,  are  unknown. 

30.  Zerah:  perhaps  a  corruption  of  ezrah,  '  aboriginal.'  Accord- 
ing to  Joshua  vii.  1,  Achan  was  of  the  clan  Zerah.  There  is 
a  reference  to  the  Bene  Zerah  in  Neh.  xi.  24.  Zerah  was  also  the 
name  of  clans  of  Edom,  xxxvi.  13,  and  Simeon,  Num.  xxvi.  13  ; 
see  on  Gen.  xxxvi.  5. 

The  meaning  of  this  story  seems  to  be,  as  in  the  case  of  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh  Gen.  xlviii,  that  the  leadership  rested  at  one  time 
with  Perez,  and  at  another  with  Zerah. 

xxxix.     Joseph  and  his  Master's  Wife  (J)1. 

xxxix.  1-6.  The  Ishmaelites  sell  Joseph  to  an  Egyptian2, 
whom  he  serves  with  success  and  acceptance. 

1  Cf.  below,  'Sources,  &c.'  2  Cf.  on  verse  1. 


GENESIS  39.  2.     R  J  347 

[R]  Potiphar,  an  officer  of  Pharaoh's,  the  captain  of  the 
guard,  [J]  an  Egyptian,  bought  him  of  the  hand  of  the 
Ishmaelites,  which  had  brought  him  down  thither.     And  2 

xxxix.  7-20.  His  master's  wife  tempts  him,  and  on  his  refusal 
accuses  him  of  an  attempted  outrage.     He  is  cast  into  prison. 

xxxix.  21-23.  He  wins  the  favour  of  the  governor  of  the 
prison,  and  is  made  head-warder. 

Sources,  &c.  This  chapter  is  almost  entirely  from  J  ;  a  few 
phrases  seem  to  have  been  introduced  from  E's  account  of 
Joseph's  experiences  with  Potiphar  ;  but  these  are  not  important 
enough  to  be  indicated.  The  phrase  in  verse  1,  '  Potiphar.  an 
officer  of  Pharaoh's,  the  captain  of  the  guard,1  is  an  insertion  of 
the  editor  from  E,  xxxvii.  36,  necessitated  by  the  attempt  to 
combine  the  J  and  E  stories  into  a  single  consecutive  narrative. 

This  chapter  is  a  version  of  an  Egyptian  tale,  The  Two  Brothers, 
connected  with  an  Israelite  tribal  hero.  This  tale  runs  somewhat 
as  follows 1 : — There  were  two  brothers,  the  elder  Anup,  the 
younger  Bata,  who  were  much  attached  to  each  other.  Bata 
managed  Anup's  affairs  with  great  success.  One  day  when  they 
were  ploughing  together  Bata  came  to  the  house  for  some  seed, 
leaving  Anup  in  the  field.  Anup's  wife  tempted  Bata  without 
success  ;  and  when  Anup  came  home  in  the  evening  his  wife  told 
him  that  Bata  had  outraged  her.  Anup  rushed  out  to  kill  Bata, 
who,  however,  is  protected  by  Re,  the  Sun-god  ;  and  at  last 
convinces  Anup  of  his  innocence,  whereupon  Anup  goes  home 
and  kills  his  wife. 

There  is  more  of  the  tale  in  the  Egyptian  story,  but  it  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  Joseph-narrative  except  perhaps  in  its 
conclusion.  Bata  has  many  surprising  adventures,  after  the 
manner  of  a  fairy-tale,  and  at  last  becomes  king  of  Egypt. 

This  story  is  said  to  belong  to  the  period  of  the  nineteenth 
dynasty  of  Egyptian  kings,  from  about  B.C.  1327  ;  the  dynasty 
to  which  belong  Rameses  II  and  Menephtah,  sometimes  supposed 
to  be  the  Pharaohs  of  the  Oppression  and  the  Exodus. 

Famines  are  not  uncommon  features  of  the  annals  of  Egypt ; 
and  several  are  recorded  in  history ;  more  than  once  in  the 
Egyptian  inscriptions  a  high  official  boasts  of  his  services  in 
preserving  the  people  from  starvation  through  famine.  No  one 
of  the  famines  mentioned  in  history  can  be  identified  as  that 
referred  to  in  this  narrative. 

1.  Potiphar  .  .  .  guard,  inserted  by  the  editor  from  xxxvii. 
36,  E.     In  J  Joseph's  owner  is  nameless,  see  verses  2,  3.  7,  &c. 

1  An  abstract  of  the  tale  as  given  in  Erman,  Life  in  Ancient 
Egypt,  Eng.  trans.,  p.  37S  f. 


348  GENESIS   39.  3-11.     J 

the  Lord  was  with  Joseph,  and  he  was  a  prosperous    ; 
man ;    and   he   was   in   the   house   of  his   master   the    < 

3  Egyptian.     And  his  master  saw  that  the  Lord  was  with    I 
him,  and  that  the  Lord  made  all  that  he  did  to  prosper    ( 

4  in  his  hand.  And  Joseph  found  grace  in  his  sight,  and 
he  ministered  unto  him  :  and  he  made  him  overseer 
over  his  house,  and  all  that  he  had  he  put  into  his  hand. 

►  And  it  came  to  pass  from  the  time  that  he  made  him 
overseer  in  his  house,  and  over  all  that  he  had,  that  the 
Lord  blessed  the  Egyptian's  house  for  Joseph's  sake; 
and  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  was  upon  all  that  he  had, 

6  in  the  house  and  in  the  field.     And  he  left  all  that  he 
had  in  Joseph's  hand ;   and  he  knew  not  aught  that  was    . 
with  him,  save  the  bread  which  he  did  eat.     And  Joseph    (1 


was  comely,   and   well  favoured.     And  it  came  to  pass 


after  these  things,   that  his  master's  wife  cast  her  eyes 

8  upon  Joseph ;  and  she  said,  Lie  with  me.  But  he 
refused,  and  said  unto  his  master's  wife,  Behold,  my 
master  knoweth  not  what  is  with  me  in  the  house,  and 

9  he  hath  put  all  that  he  hath  into  my  hand ;    there  is 
none  greater  in  this  house  than  I ;   neither  hath  he  kept   ^ 
back  any  thing  from  me  but  thee,  because  thou  art  his   | 
wife  :   how  then  can  I  do  this  great  wickedness,  and  sin 

10  against  God  ?   And   it  came  to  pass,   as  she  spake  to 
Joseph  day  by  day,  that  he  hearkened  not  unto  her,  to 

11  lie  by  her,   or  to   be  with   her.     And  it  came  to  pass 
about  this  time,  that  he  went  into  the  house  to  do  his 


6.  he  knew  not  aught  that  was  with  him  :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  with 
him  he  knew  not.'     Cf.  verse  23. 

8.  knoweth  not  what  is  with  me  in  the  house :  R.  V.  marg., 
'knoweth  not  with  me  what  is,  &c.' 

9.  there  is  none  greater :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  he  is  not.' 

God:   not  Yahweh,  because  Joseph  is  speaking  to  one  who 
was  not  an  Israelite. 


GENESIS   39.  12-23.     J  349 

work;  and  there  was  none  of  the  men  of  the  house 
there   within.     And  she   caught    him    by   his   garment,  12 
saying,  Lie  with   me :    and  he  left   his  garment  in  her 
hand,  and  fled,  and  got  him  out.     And  it  came  to  pass,  13 
when  she  saw  that  he  had  left  his  garment  in  her  hand, 
and  was  fled  forth,  that  she  called  unto  the  men  of  her  14 
house,   and    spake   unto   them,    saying,    See,    he   hath 
brought  in  an  Hebrew  unto  us  to  mock  us ;  he  came  in 
unto  me  to  lie  with  me,  and  I  cried  with  a  loud  voice : 
and  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  heard  that  I  lifted  up  my  15 
voice  and  cried,  that  he  left  his  garment  by  me,  and  fled, 
and  got  him  out.     And  she  laid  up  his  garment  by  her,  16 
until  his  master  came  home.     And  she  spake  unto  him  17 
according  to  these  words,  saying,  The  Hebrew  servant, 
which  thou  hast  brought  unto  us,  came  in  unto  me  to 
mock  me :  and  it  came  to  pass,  as  I  lifted  up  my  voice  18 
and  cried,  that  he  left  his  garment  by  me,  and  fled  out. 
And  it  came  to  pass,  when  his  master  heard  the  words  19 
of  his  wife,  which  she  spake  unto  him,  saying,  After  this 
manner   did   thy    servant   to    me;    that    his   wrath  was 
kindled.     And  Joseph's  master  took  him,  and  put  him  20 
into  the   prison,   the  place  where  the  king's    prisoners 
were  bound:   and  he  was  there  in  the  prison.     But  the  21 
Lord  was  with  Joseph,  and  shewed  kindness  unto  him, 
and  gave  him  favour  in  the  sight  of  the  keeper  of  the 
prison.     And   the  keeper  of  the  prison  committed  to  22 
Joseph's  hand  all  the  prisoners  that  were  in  the  prison ; 
and  whatsoever  they  did  there,  he  was  the  doer  of  it. 
The  keeper  of  the  prison  looked  not  to  any  thing  that  23 
was  under  his  hand,  because  the  Lord  was  with  him; 
and  that  which  he  did,  the  Lord  made  it  to  prosper. 

14.  Hebrew.     Cf.  on  xiv.  13. 
1*7.  to  mock  me:  a  euphemism. 


35©  GENESIS  40.  1-3.     E  R 

40      [E]  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  the 
butler  of  the  king  of  Egypt  and  his  baker  offended  their 

2  lord  the  king  of  Egypt.     And  Pharaoh  was  wroth  against 
his  two  officers,  against  the  chief  of  the  butlers,  and 

3  against  the  chief  of  the  bakers.     And  he  put  them  in 
ward  in  the  house  of  the  captain  of  the  guard,  [R]  into 

xl.     The  Chief  Butler  and  the  Chief  Baker  (E). 

xl.   1-4.     Pharaoh's  chief  butler  and  chief  baker  are  placed  in 
the  custody  of  the  '  captain  of  the  guard,'  who  charges  Joseph  with      1 
them. 

xl.  5-19.     The    two    prisoners   dream    dreams,  which   Joseph     V 
interprets   to  mean   that   the    chief  butler   will    be  released  and 
restored   to   office,   and    that   the    chief  baker   will    be    hanged.       j 
Joseph  asks  the  chief  butler  to  intercede  for  him. 

xl.   20-23.     The  dreams  come  true,  but  the  chief  butler  forgets     g 
Joseph. 

Sources,  &c.      This   is    the    continuation    of  the  story   in   the 
Elohistic  document,  in   which  Joseph  is  sold  to  the  captain  of 
the  guard.     It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  previous  chapter,  the 
scene  is  not  a  prison — 'into  the  prison,  the  place  where  Joseph      ' 
was  bound,'  in  verse  3,  and  the  second  part  of  verse  15,  '  and  here 
also,'  &c,  are  editorial  additions— but '  his  master's  house,'  verses  3 
and  7.     The  custodian  of  Pharaoh's  officers  is  not  'the  keeper     J 
of  the  prison'  of  xxxix.  21-23,  Dut  ' tne  captain  of  the  guard'  ; 
and  there  is   no  reference  to  the  charge  on  which  Joseph  was     \ 
imprisoned  in  xxxix.  20.      Moreover  it  is  the  Elohistic  Document      . 
which  is  specially  interested  in  dreams,  and  has  already,  xxxvii. 
5-1 1,  19,  20,  described  Joseph  as  a  dreamer. 

1.  butler  .  .  .  baker.  The  superintendents  of  the  royal  cellar 
and  the  royal  bakehouse  were  high  officials  of  the  Egyptian 
court,  'Lord  High  Butler'  and  'Lord  High  Baker.' 

2.  officers:  lit.  'eunuchs'  ;  see  on  xxxvii.  36. 

3.  in  the  house  of  the  captain  of  the  guard.  Cf.  on 
xxxvii.  36.  If  we  accept  the  rendering  '  captain  of  the  guard,' 
we  should  suppose  that  this  official  had  charge  of  state  prisoners, 
but  if,  as  seems  more  likely,  we  should  translate  superintendent 
of  the  royal  kitchen,  '  Lord  High  Cook,'  this  official  would  be 
the  superior  of  the  '  Lord  High  Butler '  and  the  '  Lord  High 
Baker '  ;  and  in  this  capacity  would  be  charged  with  their 
custody.  State  prisoners  of  high  rank  have  often  been  placed 
in  custody  in  the  charge  of  nobles  or  important  officials. 


GENESIS  40.  4-i2.     RERE  351 

the  prison,  the  place  where  Joseph  was  bound.     [E]  And   4 
the  captain  of  the  guard  charged  Joseph  with  them,  and 
he  ministered  unto  them :  and  they  continued  a  season 
in  ward.     And  they  dreamed  a  dream  both  of  them,  each    5 
man  his  dream,  in  one  night,  each  man  according  to  the 
interpretation  of  his  dream,  the  butler  and  the  baker  of 
the  king  of  Egypt,  [R]  which  were  bound  in  the  prison. 
[E]  And  Joseph  came  in  unto  them  in  the  morning,  and   6 
saw  them,  and,  behold,  they  were  sad.     And  he  asked    7 
Pharaoh's  officers   that  were  with   him   in  ward  in  his 
master's  house,  saying,  Wherefore  look  ye  so  sadly  to- 
day?    And   they   said   unto   him,    We   have    dreamed   C 
a  dream,  and  there  is  none  that  can  interpret  it.     And 
Joseph  said  unto  them,  Do  not  interpretations  belong 
to  God  ?  tell  it  me,  I  pray  you.     And  the  chief  butler   9 
told  his  dream  to  Joseph,  and  said  to  him,  In  my  dream, 
behold,  a  vine  was  before  me ;   and  in  the  vine  were  10 
three  branches  :  and  it  was  as  though  it  budded,  and  its 
blossoms  shot  forth  ;   and  the  clusters  thereof  brought 
forth  ripe  grapes :  and  Pharaoh's  cup  was  in  my  hand ;  1 1 
and  I  took  the  grapes,  and  pressed  them  into  Pharaoh's 
cup,  and  I  gave  the  cup  into  Pharaoh's  hand.     And  12 

3b  (R).  into  the  prison,  &c,  an  addition  of  the  editor,  to 
make  this  chapter  read  as  the  continuation  of  the  previous  one ; 
cf.  on  15  b. 

5.  which  were  bound  in  the  prison :  (R) ;  cf.  previous  note. 

*I.  with  him  in  ward :  '  in  his  charge.' 

10,  11.  In  his  dream  the  chief  butler  sees  the  whole  process 
of  wine-making  pass  before  his  eyes  in  a  few  seconds.  The  buds 
appear  upon  the  vine  branches,  they  unfold  into  blossoms,  and 
ripen  into  grapes.  He  gathers  them ;  presses  them  forthwith 
into  Pharaoh's  cup  ;  they  become  wine  ;  and,  as  the  royal  cup- 
bearer, he  serves  the  wine  to  Pharaoh.  The  ordinary  interpreta- 
tion is  that  the  king  drank  the  fresh  grape-juice  ;  but  as  the  butler 
sees  the  natural  process  of  the  growth  of  the  grapes  take  place 
with  dream-like  swiftness,  so  probably  it  is  taken  for  granted  that 
the  juice  became  wine  in  similar  fashion. 


352  GENESIS  40.  13-18.     ERE 

Joseph  said  unto  him,  This  is  the  interpretation  of  it : 

13  the  three  branches  are  three  days ;  within  yet  three  days 
shall  Pharaoh  lift  up  thine  head,  and  restore  thee  unto 
thine  office :  and  thou  shalt  give  Pharaoh's  cup  into  his 
hand,  after  the  former  manner  when  thou  wast  his  butler. 

14  But  have  me  in  thy  remembrance  when  it  shall  be  well 
with  thee,  and  shew  kindness,  I  pray  thee,  unto  me,  and 
make  mention  of  me  unto  Pharaoh,  and  bring  me  out  of 

15  this  house :  for  indeed  I  was  stolen  away  out  of  the  land 
of  the  Hebrews  :  [R]  and  here  also  have  I  done  nothing 

16  that  they  should  put  me  into  the  dungeon.  [E]  When 
the  chief  baker  saw  that  the  interpretation  was  good,  he 
said  unto  Joseph,  I  also  was  in  my  dream,  and,  behold, 

17  three  baskets  of  white  bread  were  on  my  head  :  and  in  the 
uppermost  basket  there  was  of  all  manner  of  bakemeats 
for  Pharaoh;   and  the  birds   did  eat  them   out  of  the 

18  basket  upon  my  head.  And  Joseph  answered  and  said. 
This  is  the  interpretation  thereof :  the  three  baskets  are 

15 b  (R).  and  here  also  .  .  .  dungeon:  an  addition  of  the 
editor ;  cf.  3  b  and  5  b. 

16.  three  baskets  of  white  oread.  The  meaning  of  the  word 
translated  '  white  bread '  is  uncertain.  The  Syriac  and  LXX 
understand  it  as  some  kind  of  baker's  goods.  A  second-century 
Greek  translator1  renders  the  phrase  'baskets  of  palm-branches'; 
and  the  rendering  '  wickerwork  baskets '  has  also  been  proposed. 
The  '  all  manner  of  bakemeats '  of  the  next  verse  simply  means 
'all  kinds  of  baker's  goods,'  pastry,  cakes,  bread,  &c,  and  does 
not  necessarily  imply  any  flesh  food.  But  even  so  this  account 
of  the  contents  of  the  top  basket  points  to  some  such  rendering 
here  as  <  wickerwork '  ;  'all  kinds  of  baker's  goods '  in  the  top 
basket  does  not  seem  consistent  with  '  white  bread '  in  all  three. 

17.  the  uppermost  basket,  &c.  Cf.  previous  note.  Probably 
the  two  lower  baskets  were  empty,  so  that  when  the  birds  had 
eaten  the  contents  of  the  top  basket  there  was  nothing  left,  and 
the  chief  baker  could  not  perform  his  official  functions.  With 
the  helplessness  so  common  in  dreams,  he  cannot  frighten  the 
birds  away. 

1  Symmachus. 


GENESIS  40.  20-41.  i.     E  353 

three  days;  within  yet  three  days  shall  Pharaoh  lift  up 
thy  head  from  off  thee,  and  shall  hang  thee  on  a  tree ; 
and  the  birds  shall  eat  thy  flesh  from  off  thee.     And  it  20 
came  to  pass  the  third  day,  which  was  Pharaoh's  birthday, 
that  he  made  a  feast  unto  all  his  servants :  and  he  lifted 
up  the  head  of  the  chief  butler  and  the  head  of  the  chief 
baker  among  his  servants.     And  he  restored  the  chief 
butler  unto  his  butlership  again ;  and  he  gave  the  cup  21 
into  Pharaoh's  hand :  but  he  hanged  the  chief  baker  :  as  22 
Joseph  had  interpreted  to  them.     Yet  did  not  the  chief  23 
butler  remember  Joseph,  but  forgat  him. 

And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  end  of  two  full  years,  that  41 
Pharaoh  dreamed :  and,  behold,  he  stood  by  the  river. 


19.  shall  .  .  .  lift  up  thy  head  from  off  thee,  and  shall  hang* 
thee  on  a  tree.     He  would  be  beheaded,  and  his  corpse  exposed. 

the  birds  shall  eat  thy  flesh,  as  they  had  eaten  the  contents 
'  of  the  top  basket. 

20.  Pharaoh's  birthday  ...  he  made  a  feast.     Cf.  Herod's 
,  birthday  feast,  Mark  vi.  21,  and  our  ;  Birthday  Honours.' 

lifted  up  the  head :  had  him  brought  up  from  the  house  of 
the  '  captain  of  the  guard  '  into  the  royal  presence. 
23.  Cf.  Eccles.  ix.  13-16. 

xli.  Joseph  at  Pharaoh's  Court.     (Mainly  from  E, 
with  passages  inserted  from  J  and  P.) 

xli.  1-32  (E)  K  Pharaoh  has  a  dream  which  his  magicians  cannot 
interpret ;  the  chief  butler  mentions  Joseph,  who  is  sent  for,  and 
interprets  the  dream  as  a  prophecy  of  famine. 

xli'  33-37  (JE).  Joseph  advises  the  appointment  of  an  official 
to  provide  for  the  famine.     Pharaoh  accepts  the  advice. 

xli.  38-40  (E).  Joseph  is  appointed  to  this  office. 

xli.  41-45  (J).  Joseph  is  appointed  to  this  office,  and  married  to 
the  daughter  of  Poti-phera  the  priest  of  On. 

xli.  46  (P).  Joseph,  aged  thirty,  is  appointed  Pharaoh's  vizier. 

p  xli.  47-49  (JE).  Joseph  gathers  corn  in  seven  years  of  plenty. 

-  } . 

at'1  Except  14,  'and  they  brought  him  .   .   .  dungeon,'  R  or  J.  There 

♦re  probably  other  phrases  from  J  or  R  in   1-32;  they  are  not  suffi- 
ciently certain  or  important  to  be  indicated. 

A  a 


354  GENESIS  41.  2-4.     E 

2  And,  behold,  there  came  up  out  of  the  river  seven  kine, 
well  favoured  and  fatfleshed ;  and  they  fed  in  the  reed- 

3  grass.  And,  behold,  seven  other  kine  came  up  after 
them  out  of  the  river,  ill  favoured  and  leanfleshed ;  and 
stood  by  the  other  kine   upon  the  brink  of  the  river. 

4  And  the  ill  favoured  and  leanfleshed  kine  did  eat  up  the 

xli.  50-52  (E) \  Joseph  has  two  sons,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim. 

xli-  53-57  (JE).  Joseph  feeds  the  people  during  the  seven  years 
of  famine. 

Sources,  &c.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  J  as  well  as  E  had  an 
account  of  Joseph's  promotion  and  of  the  famine  ;  the  portions 
belonging  to  J  are  for  the  most  part  included  in  those  given  above 
to  JE  or  J,  but  they  cannot  be  certainly  identified  ;  even  those 
marked  J  are  only  ascribed  to  that  source  with  some  hesitation  2. 
On  the  other  hand  there  may  be  fragments  of  J  in  the  sections 
marked  E.  It  would  seem  to  follow  that  J  had  an  account  of  the 
interpretation  of  Pharaoh's  dream,  but  this  is  not  certain.  If  it 
were  so,  probably  the  royal  officials  in  J  were  cast  into  the  same 
prison  as  Joseph,  and  the  story  went  on  very  much  as  in  E.  It  is 
possible,  however,  that  the  occasion  of  Joseph's  release  and 
promotion  were  quite  different  in  J,  and  have  been  omitted  for 
some  reason — perhaps  because  they  were  not  edifying  ;  or  perhaps 
because  it  was  impossible  to  weave  them  and  the  E  account  into 
anything  like  a  single  consistent  story.  For  the  reasons  why 
verse  46  is  ascribed  to  P,  see  the  note  on  that  verse. 

1.  Pharaoh.  Probably  neither  the  author  of  the  original  story 
nor  any  of  the  editors  of  the  Pentateuch  identified  this  Pharaoh, 
with  any  particular  king  of  Egypt.  Many  theories  on  the  subject 
have  been  current  at  various  times.  It  was  once  usual  to  place 
Joseph's  viziership  during  the  period  of  the  Hyksos,  or  Shepherd 
Kings,  leaders  of  a  Semitic  people  who  were  dominant  in  Egypt 
perhaps  about  b.  c.  1800-1600.  It  was  supposed  that  the  Semitic 
origin  of  the  dynasty  would  account  for  the  favour  shown  to  the 
Semite  Joseph  and  his  kindred.  Prof.  Cheyne  has  proposed 
Khu-en-Aten,  Amenophis  IV,  c.  1400,  the  monotheistic  reformer, 
to  whom  many  of  the  Amarna  Tablets  were  addressed,  as  the 
Pharaoh  of  Joseph. 

2.  river:  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Heb.  Yeor,  that  is,  the  Nile.' 
reed-grass:    the  word  in  the  Hebrew,  '«Am,  is  an  Egyptiand 

word.                                                                                                       "ith 
. he 

1  Except  5ob,  from  '  which  Asenath,'  an  addition  of  an  editor. 

2  See  especially  on  verse  45. 


GENESIS  41.5-12.     E  355 

seven  well  favoured  and  fat  kine.     So  Pharaoh  awoke. 

,  And  he  slept  and  dreamed  a  second  time :  and,  behold,    5 
seven  ears  of  corn  came  up  upon  one  stalk,  rank  and 
good.     And,  behold,  seven  ears,  thin  and  blasted  with   6 
the  east  wind,  sprung  up  after  them.     And  the  thin  ears    7 
swallowed  up  the  seven  rank  and  full  ears.     And  Pharaoh 
awoke,  and,  behold,  it  was  a  dream.     And  it  came  to   8 
pass  in  the  morning  that  his  spirit  was  troubled ;  and  he 
sent  and  called  for  all  the  magicians  of  Egypt,  and  all 
the  wise  men  thereof :  and  Pharaoh  told  them  his  dream ; 
but    l.  ore   was   none   that   could   interpret   them   unto 
Pharaoh.     Then  spake  the  chief  butler  unto  Pharaoh,   9 

I  saying,  I  do  remember  my  faults  this  day :  Pharaoh  was  10 
wroth  with  his  servants,  and  put  me  in  ward  in  the  house 

I  of  the  captain  of  the  guard,  me  and  the  chief  baker  :  and  1 1 
we  dreamed  a  dream  in  one  night,  I  and  he ;  we  dreamed 
each  man  according  to  the  interpretation  of  his  dream. 
And  there  was  with  us  there  a  young  man,  an  Hebrew,  1 2 
servant  to  the  captain  of  the  guard;  and  we  told  him, 
and   he   interpreted  to  us  our  dreams;    to  each  man 

5f  '7.  rank:  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Heb.  fat.' 

6.  east  wind.  The  withering  force  of  the  east  wind  in  Palestine 
is  referred  to  in  Ezek.  xvii.  10,  &c. ;  in  Egypt  the  south-east  wind 
has  a  similar  effect. 

8.  Cf.  Dan.  ii.  1-12,  iv.  4-7. 

the  magicians  (R.  V.  marg.,  'sacred  scribes')  .  .  .  the  wise 
men.  The  word  '  magicians '  (hartumim)  is  only  found  (a)  of 
Egyptians,  here  and  in  Exod.  vii-x,  and  (b'j  in  Daniel,  where  its 
use  is  due  to  imitation  of  the  story  of  Joseph.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  it  is  an  Egyptian  word  ;  it  is  probably  derived  from  the 
Hebrew  heret,  a  stylus  used  for  writing  on  wax-tablets  ;  and  so 
denotes,  as  R.  V.  marg.  'scribes,'  and  especially  scribes  who  studied 
and  copied  books  of  magic.  'Wise  men,'  like  our  'wizard'  or 
'wise  woman,'  means  here  'wise  in  magic'  Magicians  were 
a  professional  class  ;  and  magic  played  a  great  part  in  the  life 
of  Eg\<pt  and  Western  Asia,  as  it  has  done  in  all  periods  and 
nations,  and  does  even  with  us  to-day. 

9.  I  do  remember :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  will  make  mention  of.* 

A  a   2 


356  GENESIS  41.  P3-20.     ERE 

13  according  to  his  dream  he  did  interpret.  And  it  came 
to  pass,  as  he  interpreted  to  us,  so  it  was  ;  me  he  restored! 

14  unto  mine  office,  and  him  he  hanged.  Then  Pharaoh 
sent  and  called  Joseph,  [R]  and  they  brought  him  hastily 
out  of  the  dungeon :    [E]  and  he  shaved  himself,  and 

15  changed  his  raiment,  and  came  in  unto  Pharaoh.  And 
Pharaoh  said  unto  Joseph,  I  have  dreamed  a  dream,  and 
there  is  none  that  can  interpret  it :  and  I  have  heard  say 
of  thee,  that  when  thou  hearest  a  dream  thou  canst 

16  interpret  it.  And  Joseph  answered  Pharaoh,  saying,  It 
is  not  in  me  :  God  shall  give  Pharaoh  an  answer  of  peace. 

17  And  Pharaoh  spake  unto  Joseph,  In  my  dream,  behold, 

18  I  stood  upon  the  brink  of  the  river :  and,  behold,  there 
came  up  out  of  the  river  seven  kine,  fatfleshed  and  well 

19  favoured ;  and  they  fed  in  the  reed-grass  :  and,  behold, 
seven  other  kine  came  up  after  them,  poor  and  very  ilU 
favoured  and  leanfleshed,  such  as  I  never  saw  in  all  th 

20  land  of  Egypt  for  badness  :  and  the  lean  and  ill  favoure 

13.  me  he  restored  .  .  .  him  he  hanged:  R.V.  marg.,  *I  was 
restored  .  .  .  and  he  was  hanged.' 

14.  they  brought  him  hastily  out  of  the  dungeon.  Either  R I 
or  a  fragment  of  J  ;  in  the  main  (E)  narrative  Joseph  is  in  the  y 
'  house '  of  the  captain  of  the  guard. 

shaved  himself.  It  is  not  certain  whether  the  shaving  refers  ^ 
to  the  head  or  the  chin.  It  is  often  supposed  that  the  Egyptians 
shaved  the  head  and  wore  wigs;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  stated 
that  they  simply  kept  the  hair  very  short  under  the  wigs ;  and 
that  the  shaving  of  the  head  was  confined  to  the  priests  of  the 
New  Empire,  b.  c.  1530  onwards.  But  it  was  the  custom  at  all 
times  in  Egypt  to  shave  the  hair  of  the  face  ;  on  great  occasions 
the  nobles  often  wore  artificial  beards  ;  these  are  the  beards  seem 
in  the  pictures  on  the  monuments.  Doubtless  Joseph  shaved  his 
face.  If  any  one  prefers  to  believe  that  the  shaving  refers  to  the 
head,  we  might  translate  '  got  himself  shaved.' 

16.  It  is  not  in  me:  God,  &c.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the 
Massoretic-Hebrew  text  as  it  stands  can  give  this  translation. 
The  LXX  has,  '  An  answer  cannot  be  given  without  God,1 
which  would  not  commit  Joseph  to  promising  to  interpret  the 
dream. 


GENESIS  41.  21-32.     E  357 

[  kine  did  eat  up  the  first  seven  fat  kine :  and  when  they  21 
[  had  eaten  them  up,  it  could  not  be  known  that  they  had 
eaten  them  ;  but  they  were  still  ill  favoured,  as  at  the 
beginning.     So  I  awoke.     And  I  saw  in  my  dream,  and,  22 
behold,  seven  ears  came  up  upon  one  stalk,  full  and  good  : 
and,  behold,  seven  ears,  withered,  thin,  and  blasted  with  23 
the  east  wind,  sprung  up  after  them  :  and  the  thin  ears  24 
X  swallowed  up  the  seven  good  ears  :  and  I  told  it  unto 
the  magicians  ;  but  there  was  none  that  could  declare  it  to 
me.    And  Joseph  said  unto  Pharaoh,  The  dream  of  Pha-  25 
raoh  is  one :  what  God  is  about  to  do  he  hath  declared 
unto  Pharaoh.    The  seven  good  kine  are  seven  years ;  and  26 
the  seven  good  ears  are  seven  years  :  the  dream  is  one. 
\  And  the  seven  lean  and  ill  favoured  kine  that  came  up  after  27 
[  them  are  seven  years,  and  also  the  seven  empty  ears  blasted 
1  with  the  east  wind ;  they  shall  be  seven  years  of  famine. 
That  is  the  thing  which  I  spake  unto   Pharaoh :  what  28 
God  is  about  to  do  he  hath  shewed  unto  Pharaoh.     Be-  29 
hold,  there  come  seven  years  of  great  plenty  throughout 
all  the  land  of  Egypt :  and  there  shall  arise  after  them  30 
j  seven  years  of  famine ;  and  all  the  plenty  shall  be  forgot- 
1  ten  in  the  land  of  Egypt  •  and  the  famine  shall  consume 
the  land;  and  the  plenty  shall  not  be  known  in  the  land  31 
by  reason  of  that  famine  which  followeth  ;  for  it  shall  be 
very  grievous.     And  for  that  the  dream  was  doubled  32 
unto  Pharaoh  twice,  it  is  because  the  thing  is  established 

23,  withered.  The  word1  so  translated  is  an  Aramaic  word 
which  is  not  found  elsewhere  in  the  O.T.  It  is  omitted  by  the 
LXX  and  Syriac  versions  ;  a  comparison  with  verse  6  shows  that 
it  is  a  corruption  of  the  word  2  for  '  springing  up.' 

25.  The  dream  of  Pharaoh  is  one:  the  two  dreams  have  the 
same  meaning. 

1  Qeurmoth.  2  Qomehoth. 


358  GENESIS  41.  33-42.     E  JE  E  J 

by  God,  and  God  will  shortly  bring  it  to  pass.     [JE] 

33  Now  therefore  let  Pharaoh  look  out  a  man  discreet  and 

34  wise,  and  set  him  over  the  land  of  Egypt.  Let  Pharaoh 
do  this,  and  let  him  appoint  overseers  over  the  land,  and 
take  up  the  fifth  part  of  the  land  of  Egypt  in  the  seven 

35  plenteous  years.  And  let  them  gather  all  the  food  of 
these  good  years  that  come,  and  lay  up  corn  under  the 
hand  of  Pharaoh  for  food  in  the  cities,  and  let  them  keep 

36  it.  And  the  food  shall  be  for  a  store  to  the  land  against 
the  seven  years  of  famine,  which  shall  be  in  the  land  of 
Egypt;   that  the  land  perish   not  through   the   famine. 

37  And  the  thing  was  good  in  the  eyes  of  Pharaoh,  and  in 

38  the  eyes  of  all  his  servants.  [E]  And  Pharaoh  said  unto 
his  servants,  Can  we  find  such  a  one  as  this,  a  man  in 

39  whom  the  spirit  of  God  is  ?  And  Pharaoh  said  unto 
Joseph,  Forasmuch  as  God  hath  shewed  thee  all  this, 

40  there  is  none  so  discreet  and  wise  as  thou  :  thou  shalt  bet 
over  my  house,  and  according  unto  thy  word  shall  all  my 
people  be  ruled :  only  in  the  throne  will  I  be  greater 

41  than  thou.     [J]  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Joseph,  See,  I 

42  have  set  thee  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt.  And  Pharaoh 
took  off  his  signet  ring  from  his  hand,  and  put  it  upon 

34.  let  him  .  .  .  take  up  the  fifth  part  of  the  land  :  i.  e.  of  the 
produce  of  the  land,  a  double  tithe  ;  cf.  xlvii.  24-27.  In  verse  48 
Joseph  gathers  up  f  all  the  food,'  a  piece  of  rhetoric  which  must 
come  from  another  source. 

38.  in  whom  the  spirit  of  God  is.  Imitated  in  Dan.  iv.  8,  9.  18, 
of  Daniel  '  the  master  of  the  magicians.' 

40.  my  house  :  my  court,  my  government. 

he  ruled:  R.  V.  marg..  '  order  themselves,  or,  do  homage.' 
This  sudden  elevation  of  an  obscure  individual  is  quite  in  keeping 
with  the  customs  of  oriental  despotisms,  especially  in  popular 
stories.  The  slave  or  the  wandering  stranger  of  to-day  may  be 
the  vizier  or  even  the  sultan  of  to-morrow.  Indeed,  such  incidents 
are  found  in  the  folklore  of  all  peoples.     Cf.  the  case  of  David. 

42.  took  off  his  signet  ring*  .  .  .  and  put  it  upon  Joseph's 
hand:   a  token  that  Joseph  was  the  representative  of  the  king. 


GENESIS  41.  43-46.     JP  359 

Joseph's  hand,  and  arrayed  him  in  vestures  of  fine  linen, 
and  put  a  gold  chain  about  his  neck ;  and  he  made  him  43 
to  ride  in  the  second  chariot  which  he  had ;  and  they 
cried  before  him,  Bow  the  knee  :  and  he  set  him  over  all 
the  land  of  Egypt.     And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Joseph,  I  am  44 
Pharaoh,  and  without  thee  shall  no  man  lift  up  his  hand 
or  his  foot  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt.     And  Pharaoh  called  45 
Joseph's  name  Zaphenath-paneah  ;  and  he  gave  him  to 
wife  Asenath  the  daughter  of  Poti-phera  priest  of  On. 
And  Joseph  went  out  over  the  land  of  Egypt.     [P]  And  46 

Pharaoh  gave  him,  as  it  were,  an  unlimited  '  power  of  attorney '  ; 
cf.  on  xxxviii.  18. 

fine  linen :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  cotton,1  '  byssus.' 

gold  chain  about  his  neck.     The  Egyptian  kings  are  often 
depicted  giving  golden  neck-ornaments  to  favoured  officials. 
43.  the  second  chariot :   second  best. 

Bow  the  knee:  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Abrech,  probably  an  Egyptian 
word,  similar  in  sound  to  the  Hebrew  word  meaning  "  to  kneel.''  I 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  word  was  borrowed  from  the 
Assyrian- Babylonian  abarakku,  the  title  of  a  high  official ;  and 
the  theory  is  supported  by  reference  to  the  close  and  frequent 
intercourse  between  Egypt  and  Babylonia,  shown  by  the  Amarna 
Tablets  and  other  records.  For  the  present,  however,  the  meaning 
of  the  term  Abrech  in  this  passage  must  be  considered  altogether 
uncertain.  Under  these  circumstances,  of  course,  the  theories 
are  innumerable. 

45.  Zaphenath-paneah.  In  Joseph's  new  position  as  an 
Egyptian  official  he  would  naturally  receive  an  Egyptian  name. 
Egyptologists  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  name.  In 
former  times  it  was  explained  as  '  Saviour  of  the  World/  or 
'  Revealer  of  Secrets.'  Modern  explanations  are  'Ruler  of  the 
Nome  (district)  Place  of  Life,'  i.  e.  'the  Nome  Sethroides,'  'God 
speaks  and  lives,'  &c,  &c. 

Asenath  :  probably  '  Devotee  of  Nath,'  the  goddess  of  war. 

Poti-phera.     See  on  Potiphar,  xxxvii.  36. 

On:  Heliopolis,  'on  the  (E.)  edge  of  the  Delta,  but  outside 
the  Delta  proper,  not  far  below  the  forking  of  the  Nile1,'  the 
great  seat  of  the  worship  of  the  sun-god  ;  and,  to  use  a  modern 
term,  the  leading  Egyptian  University  for  sacred  learning. 

1  Hastings'  Bible  Dictionary. 


360  GENESIS  41.  47,  48.     P  JE 

Joseph    was   thirty    years   old   when   he    stood    before 
Pharaoh   king  of  Egypt.     And  Joseph  went  out  from  | 
the  presence  of  Pharaoh,  and  went  throughout  all  the 

47  land  of  Egypt.     [JE]  And  in  the  seven  plenteous  years 

48  the  earth  brought  forth  by  handfuls.  And  he  gathered 
up  all  the  food  of  the  seven  years  which  were  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  laid  up  the  food  in  the  cities :  the  food  of 

46  (P).  Joseph  was  thirty  years  old.  The  fact  that  46 b 
repeats  45 b  shows  that  they  belong  to  two  different  sources  ; 
and  the  statement  as  to  Joseph's  age  suggests  the  Priestly 
Document,  which  must  have  mentioned  Joseph  in  Egypt ;  cf. 
xxxvii.  2.  But  these  statements  as  to  the  age  of  Joseph  are  not 
consistent  with  the  main  narrative,  according  to  which  Benjamin, 
when  his  brothers  went  to  Egypt  to  buy  corn,  was  'a  lad1,' 
and  'a  child  of  his  old  age,  a  little  one2.'  Now,  according  to 
xxxvii.  2,  Joseph  was  seventeen  when  he  was  sold  into  Egypt ; 
so  that,  according  to  this  verse,  thirteen  years  had  elapsed  since 
that  time.  The  seven  years  of  plenty  and  some  portion  of  the 
years  of  famine  intervened  before  the  brethren  came  to  buy 
corn  ;  so  that  at  the  time  when  Benjamin  is  spoken  of  as  'a  little 
one '  Joseph  had  been  more  than  twenty  years  in  Egypt. 
Benjamin  was  born,  according  to  the  early  tradition  3,  some  time 
before  Joseph  was  sold  into  Egypt ;  or,  according  to  the  Priestly 
Document4,  before  Jacob  left  Paddan-aram.  Hence,  if  we  try 
to  combine  xxxvii.  2  and  the  present  verse  with  the  rest  of  the 
story,  Benjamin  was  twenty-three  or  twenty-four,  a  full-grown 
man,  when  he  was  spoken  of  as  'a  little  one.' 

48.  all  the  food :  a  rhetorical  hyperbole  ;  cf.  verse  34. 

laid  up  the  food  in  the  cities.  The  Egyptian  monuments 
preserve  many  pictures  of  the  granaries,  of  the  reception  and 
storing  of  the  corn,  and  of  its  registration  by  the  scribes  or 
clerks.  The  '  superintendent  of  the  granaries '  was  one  of  the 
most  important  members  of  an  Egyptian  government ;  far  more 
so  than  a  modern  Minister  of  Agriculture,  because  the  kings  had 
great  estates,  the  taxes  were  largely  collected  in  corn,  and  the 
government  kept  great  stocks  in  their  granaries.  The  super- 
intendent of  the  granaries  annually  in  solemn  audience  pre- 
sented the  king  with  a  report  of  the  harvests  ;  and  if  it  was 
satisfactory,  '  His    Majesty   would    show   special   honour   to    his 

1  xliii.  8,  na'at",  cf.  xxi.  17.  2  xliv.  20.  3  JE,  xxxv.  18. 

4  xxxv.  23,  26. 


GENESIS  41.  49-55.     JEERE  JE  361 

the  field,  which  was  round  about  every  city,  laid  he  up  in 
the  same.     And  Joseph  laid  up  corn  as  the  sand  of  the  49 
sea,  very  much,  until  he  left  numbering ;  for  it  was  with- 
out number.     [E]  And  unto  Joseph  were  born  two  sons  50 
before  the  year  of  famine  came,  [R]  which  Asenath  the 
daughter  of  Poti-phera  priest  of  On  bare  unto  him.     [E] 
And  Joseph  called  the  name  of  the  firstborn  Manasseh :  51 
For,  said  he,  God  hath  made  me  forget  all  my  toil,  and 
all  my  father's   house.     And  the  name   of  the  second  52 
called  he  Ephraim  :  For  God  hath  made  me  fruitful  in 
I  the  land  of  my  affliction.     [JE]  And  the  seven  years  of  53 
plenty,  that  was  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  came  to  an  end. 
And  the  seven  years  of  famine  began  to  come,  according  54 
as  Joseph  had  said :  and  there  was  famine  in  all  lands ; 
but  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt  there  was  bread.     And  when  55 
all  the  land  of  Egypt  was  famished,  the  people  cried  to 
Pharaoh   for    bread :    and    Pharaoh    said   unto   all   the 

faithful  servant,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  monarch  he  would 
be  anointed  and  decked  with  necklets  of  great  value1.' 

49.  left  numbering-.  Usually  the  exact  amount  of  the  corn 
was  carefully  registered  ;  cf.  previous  note. 

xli.  51,  52.  These  verses,  explained  as  tribal  history,  mean 
that  the  more  ancient  tribe  of  Joseph  afterwards  became,  by 
division  or  otherwise,  the  tribes  known  in  history  as  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh.  Manasseh  as  the  firstborn  is  the  tribe  originally 
the  more  important.     Cf.  on  xlviii. 

51.  Manasseh  (R.  V.  marg.,  'That  is,  Making  to  forget')  .  .  . 
God  hath  made  me  forget.  There  is  no  satisfactory  explanation 
of  the  real  origin  of  the  name. 

52.  Ephraim:  (R.V.  marg.,  'From  a  Hebrew  word  [PRH] 
signifying  "  to  be  fruitful."  ')  For  God  hath  made  me  fruitful, 
i.  e.  '  given  me  sons.'  The  meaning  '  fruitful '  is  often  accepted, 
and  regarded  as  the  name  of  the  district  of  Central  Palestine.  If 
so,  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  was  the  portion  of  Joseph  occupying  that 
district,  from  which  it  took  its  name.  If  so,  the  tribe  of  Ephraim 
was  formed  after  the  conquest  of  Canaan  ;  cf.  on  xlix.  22. 

1  Erman,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  Eng.  trans.,  p.  10S  ;  cf. 
pp.  122,  433. 


362  GENESIS  41.  56—42.5.     JE 

Egyptians,  Go  unto  Joseph  ;  what  he  saith  to  you,  do. 

56  And  the  famine  was  over  all  the  face  of  the  earth :  and 
Joseph  opened  all  the  storehouses,  and  sold  unto  the 
Egyptians ;   and    the  famine    was    sore   in  the  land   of 

57  Egypt.  And  all  countries  came  into  Egypt  to  Joseph  for 
to  buy  corn ;  because  the  famine  was  sore  in  all  the  earth. 

42      Now  Jacob  saw  that  there  was  corn  in  Egypt,  and  Jacob 
said  unto  his  sons,  Why  do  ye  look  one  upon  another  ? 

2  And  he  said,  Behold,  I  have  heard  that  there  is  corn  in 
Egypt :  get  you  down  thither,  and  buy  for  us  from  thence ; 

3  that   we    may   live,    and    not    die.     And    Joseph's    ten 

4  brethren  went  down  to  buy  corn  from  Egypt.  But 
Benjamin,  Joseph's  brother,  Jacob  sent  not  with  his 
brethren ;  for  he  said,  Lest  peradventure  mischief  befall 

5  him.  And  the  sons  of  Israel  came  to  buy  among  those 
that  came :   for  the  famine  was  in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

xlii.    The  First  Meeting  of  Joseph  and  his  Brethren  (JE). 

xlii.  1-7  (JE).     The  brethren  come  to  Joseph  to  buy  corn. 

xlii.  8-26  (E).  Joseph  treats  them  as  spies,  cross-questions 
them,  and  elicits  the  fact  that  thej'  have  a  younger  brother.  He 
lets  them  go  and  take  corn  for  their  families  on  condition  that 
they  bring  their  younger  brother  to  him.  He  keeps  Simeon  as  a 
hostage. 

xlii.  27,  28  a  l  (J).  On  the  way  home  one  of  them  finds  his  money 
in  his  sack. 

xlii.  28b2-37  (E).  They  arrive  at  home,  tell  Jacob  what  has 
happened,  and  find  their  money  in  their  sacks ;  he  refuses  to  send 
Benjamin. 

xlii.  38  (J).     He  [Israel]  refuses  to  send  his  son  [Benjamin], 

Sources,  &c.  The  main  narrative  is  still  from  the  Elohistic 
Document;  note  the  prominence  of  Reuben,  verses  22,  37,  as  in 
xxxvii.  21,  22.  Only  fragments  of  J's  story  are  preserved,  but 
judging  from  ch.  xliii  (J),  the  J  version  of  this  portion  of  the 
narrative  was  very  similar  to  that  of  E. 

1.  saw:  heard. 

5.  Israel.  The  name  probably  marks  the  presence  of  a 
fragment  of  J  ;    cf.   p.  22. 

1  As  far  as  '  another.'  2  From  '  saying.' 


GENESIS  42.  6-i2.     JEE  363 

And  Joseph  was  the  governor  over  the  land  ;  he  it  was    6 
that  sold  to  all  the  people  of  the  land  :  and  Joseph's 
brethren  came,  and  bowed  down  themselves  to  him  with 
their  faces  to  the  earth.     And  Joseph  saw  his  brethren,    7 
and  he  knew  them,  but  made  himself  strange  unto  them, 
and  spake  roughly  with  them ;  and  he  said  unto  them, 
Whence  come  ye?    And   they   said,  From  the  land  of 
Canaan  to  buy  food.     [Ej  And  Joseph  knew  his  brethren,    8 
but  they  knew  not  him.     And  Joseph  remembered  the   9 
dreams  which  he  dreamed  of  them,  and  said  unto  them, 
Ye  are  spies ;  to  see  the  nakedness  of  the  land  ye  are 
come.     And  they  said  unto  him,  Nay,  my  lord,  but  to  10 
buy  food  are  thy  servants  come.     We  are  all  one  man's  n 
sons ;  we  are  true  men,  thy  servants  are  no  spies.     And  12 
he  said  unto  them,  Nay,  but  to  see  the  nakedness  of  the 

6.  governor.  The  word  used  here,  shallit  \  from  the  same 
root  as  sultan  ,  is  rare  in  Hebrew,  and  chiefly  found  in  late 
post-Exilic  literature.  It  is  probably  a  mere  coincidence  that 
Josephus  gives  Salatio  as  the  name  of  the  first  of  the  Hyksos1 
kings. 

9.  to  see  the  nakedness  of  the  land.  Egypt  continually 
suffered  from  the  raids  of  the  Bedouin  on  its  desert  frontier. 
It  was  not  an  unnatural  suspicion  that  this  group  of  tribesmen, 
like  the  spies  whom  Moses  sent  into  Canaan,  had  come  to  find 
out  how  they  and  their  kinsfolk  might  make  a  successful  incursion 
into  the  border  provinces.  Joseph  felt  that  the  distress  he  was 
causing  his  brethren  was  a  just  punishment  for  their  behaviour 
to  him.  This  charge,  moreover,  gave  him  an  opportunity  of 
learning  about  his  family,  and  of  sending  for  Benjamin.  The 
question  is  often  asked — 'Why  did  not  Joseph  communicate 
with  his  kinsfolk  before  ?  He  had  now  been  a  great  official  for 
more  than  seven  years2.'  Such  conduct,  however,  is  often 
recorded ;  the  successful  emigrant  does  not  write  home  for 
many  years,  and  yet  if  a  chance  opportunity  comes,  he  is 
found  to  be  full  of  interest  and  affection  for  the  old  home. 
Moreover,  if  Joseph  had  written  or  sent  to  Jacob,  it  would  have 
spoiled  the  story. 

1  See  p.  354.  2  xli.  48. 


364  GENESIS  42.  13-22.     E 

13  land  ye  are  come.  And  they  said,  We  thy  servants  are 
twelve  brethren,  the  sons  of  one  man  in  the  land  of 
Canaan ;  and,  behold,  the  youngest  is  this  day  with  our 

14  father,  and  one  is  not.  And  Joseph  said  unto  them, 
That  is  it  that  I  spake  unto  you,  saying,  Ye  are  spies  : 

15  hereby  ye  shall  be  proved:  by  the  life  of  Pharaoh  ye 
shall  not  go  forth  hence,  except  your  youngest  brother 

16  come  hither.  Send  one  of  you,  and  let  him  fetch  your 
brother,  and  ye  shall  be  bound,  that  your  words  may  be 
proved,  whether  there  be  truth  in  you  :  or  else  by  the 

17  life  of  Pharaoh  surely  ye  are  spies.     And  he  put  them  all 

18  together  into  ward  three  days.  And  Joseph  said  unto 
them  the  third  day,  This  do,  and  live ;  for  I  fear  God : 

19  if  ye  be  true  men,  let  one  of  your  brethren  be  bound  in 
your  prison  house ;  but  go  ye,  carry  corn  for  the  famine 

20  of  your  houses :  and  bring  your  youngest  brother  unto 
me  ;  so  shall  your  words  be  verified,  and  ye  shall  not  die. 

21  And  they  did  so.  And  they  said  one  to  another,  We 
are  verily  guilty  concerning  our  brother,  in  that  we  saw 
the  distress  of  his  soul,  when  he  besought  us,  and  we 
would  not  hear ;  therefore  is  this  distress  come  upon  us. 

22  And  Reuben  answered  them,  saying,  Spake  I  not  unto 
you,  saying,  Do  not  sin  against  the  child ;  and  ye  would 
not  hear?  therefore  also,  behold,  his  blood  is  required. 

15.  hereby  ye  shall  be  proved.  If  they  had  been  spies  they 
would  probably  have  trumped  up  some  false  tale  as  to  who  and 
what  they  were. 

by  the  life  of  Pharaoh.  The  kings  of  Eg3'pt  were  reckoned 
as  gods  even  in  their  lifetime  ;  it  was  natural  therefore  to  swear 
by  them. 

17.  He  gave  them  a  taste  of  what  he  had  suffered. 

20.  And  they  did  so.  These  words  make  no  sense  where  they 
stand  ;  they  are  perhaps  a  fragment  which  has  got  into  the  wrong 
place  ;  cf.  25  b. 

21.  his  soul.     See  on  xii.  13. 

22.  Cf.  xxxvii.  22. 


GENESIS  42.  23-3i.     EJE  365 

And  they  knew  not  that  Joseph  understood  them  ;  for  23 
there  was  an  interpreter  between  them.     And  he  turned  24 
himself  about  from  them,  and  wept;  and  he  returned 
to  them,  and  spake  to  them,   and  took  Simeon  from 
among  them,  and  bound  him  before  their  eyes.     Then  25 
Joseph  commanded  to  fill  their  vessels  with  corn,  and  to 
restore  every  man's  money  into  his  sack,  and  to  give 
them  provision  for  the  way  :  and  thus  was  it  done  unto 
them.     And  they  laded  their  asses  with  their  corn,  and  26 
departed  thence.     [J]  And  as  one  of  them  opened  his  27 
sack  to  give  his  ass  provender  in  the  lodging  place,  he 
espied  his  money ;  and,  behold,  it  was  in  the  mouth  of 
his  sack.     And  he  said  unto  his  brethren,  My  money  is  28 
restored ;    and,   lo,   it  is  even   in   my  sack  :    and  their 
heart   failed  them,  and  they  turned  trembling  one  to 
another,  [E]  saying,  What  is  this  that  God  hath  done 
unto  us  ?   And  they  came  unto  Jacob  their  father  unto  29 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  told  him  all  that  had  befallen 
them ;   saying,  The  man,   the  lord  of  the  land,  spake  30 
roughly  with  us,  and  took  us  for  spies  of  the  country. 
And  we  said  unto  him,  We  are  true  men ;  we  are  no  31 


24.  Simeon :  the  second  brother,  the  most  important  after 
Reuben  the  firstborn.  Reuben  is  probably  spared  on  account 
of  his  friendly  behaviour  to  Joseph,  made  known  to  Joseph  by 
the  conversation  he  has  just  overheard. 

25.  sack.  It  is  one  of  the  indications  that  this  narrative  is 
compiled  from  two  sources  that  the  word  for  'sack'  here  (sag) 
is  different  from  that  used  (amtahatli)  in  27  b,  28.  In  27  a,  however, 
saq  is  used  probably  through  an  alteration  of  an  editor  or  copyist. 

2*7  (J),  the  lodging1  place :  perhaps  merely  camping-ground  ; 
or  else  a  caravanserai,  or  enclosure  with  rooms  for  travellers 
and  lairs  for  beasts. 

28  (J),  their  heart  failed  them.  In  view  of  Joseph's 
harshness  they  would  naturally  place  the  worst  interpretation 
on  the  return  of  the  money.  In  E  the  money  is  not  found  till 
they  get  home. 


366  GENESIS  42.  32— 43.  2.     EJ 

32  spies  :  we  be  twelve  brethren,  sons  of  our  father;  one  is 
not,  and  the  youngest  is  this  day  with  our  father  in  the 

33  land  of  Canaan.  And  the  man,  the  lord  of  the  land, 
said  unto  us,  Hereby  shall  I  know  that  ye  are  true  men ; 
leave  one  of  your  brethren  with  me,  and  take  corn  for 

34  the  famine  of  your  houses,  and  go  your  way  :  and  bring 
your  youngest  brother  unto  me :  then  shall  I  know  that 
ye  are  no  spies,  but  that  ye  are  true  men :  so  will  I 
deliver  you  your  brother,  and  ye  shall  traffick  in  the  land. 

35  And  it  came  to  pass  as  they  emptied  their  sacks,  that, 
behold,  every  man's  bundle  of  money  was  in  his  sack : 
and  when  they  and  their  father  saw  their  bundles  of 

36  money,  they  were  afraid.  And  Jacob  their  father  said 
unto  them,  Me  have  ye  bereaved  of  my  children  :  Joseph 
is  not,  and  Simeon  is  not,  and  ye  will  take  Benjamin 

37  away :  all  these  things  are  against  me.  And  Reuben 
spake  unto  his  father,  saying,  Slay  my  two  sons,  if  I  bring 
him  not  to  thee :  deliver  him  into  my  hand,  and  I  will 

38  bring  him  to  thee  again.  [J]  And  he  said,  My  son  shall 
not  go  down  with  you ;  for  his  brother  is  dead,  and  he 
only  is  left :  if  mischief  befall  him  by  the  way  in  the 
which  ye  go,  then  shall  ye  bring  down  my  gray  hairs  with 
sorrow  to  the  grave. 

43      And  the  famine  was  sore  in  the  land.     And  it  came  to 

35  (E).   sack :  saq  as  in  verse  25,  which  see,  and  cf.  28. 
36.  against:   R.V.  marg.,  'upon.' 
38.  tne  grave.     See  on  xxxvii.  35. 

xliii.     The  Brethren  go  to  Egypt  a  second  time  (J  1). 

xliii.   1-13   (J).     Judah    induces   Israel   to  let  them  go  down 
again  and  take  Benjamin. 

xliii.  14  (E l).     [Jacob's]  prayer  that  his  sons  may  be  spared. 
1  Chiefly. 


GENESIS  43.  3-9.     J  367 

pass,  when  they  had  eaten  up  the  corn  which  they  had 
brought  out  of  Egypt,  their  father  said  unto  them,  Go 
again,  buy  us  a  little  food.     And  Judah  spake  unto  him,  3 
saying,  The  man  did  solemnly  protest  unto  us,  saying, 
Ye  shall  not  see  my  face,  except  your  brother  be  with  you. 
If  thou  wilt  send  our  brother  with  us,  we  will  go  down  4 
and  buy  thee  food :   but  if  thou  wilt  not  send  him,  we  5 
will  not  go  down  :  for  the  man  said  unto  us,  Ye  shall  not 
see  my  face,  except  your   brother  be  with  you.     And  6 
Israel  said,  Wherefore  dealt  ye  so  ill  with  me,  as  to  tell 
the  man  whether  ye  had  yet  a  brother  ?    And  they  said,  7 
The  man  asked  straitly  concerning  ourselves,  and  con- 
cerning our  kindred,  saying,  Is  your  father  yet  alive? 
'  have  ye  another  brother  ?  and  we  told  him  according  to 
*  the  tenor  of  these  words :   could  we  in  any  wise  know 
that    he   would   say,    Bring   your   brother  down  ?    And  8 
Judah  said  unto  Israel  his  father,  Send  the  lad  with  me, 
and  we  will  arise  and  go  j  that  we  may  live,  and  not  die, 
both  we,  and  thou,  and  also  our  little  ones.     I  will  be  9 

xliii.  15-24  al  (J).  They  go  to  Egypt,  and  explain  to  Joseph's 
steward  about  the  money  in  their  sacks. 

xliii.  24  b2  (E).     Simeon  is  released. 

xliii.  25-34  (J).  Joseph  interviews  them.  He  is  overcome 
with  emotion  at  seeing  Benjamin.      He  feasts  his  brethren. 

Sources,  &c.  The  chapter  is  mainly  J,  but  apparently  E  had 
a  very  similar  narrative.  If  the  view  is  accepted  that  the  name 
!  Benjamin  arose  after  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  we  must  suppose 
1  that  the  name  Benjamin  here  has  replaced  another  possibly 
somewhat  similar  name.  If  the  story  originally  dealt  with  a 
Joseph  and  his  younger  brother,  the  younger  brother  would 
necessarily  become  Benjamin,  when  the  Joseph  was  identified 
with  the  ancestor  of  the  tribe. 

3.  Judah.  Here,  as  in  the  previous  (J)  section  of  this 
narrative,  Judah  is  the  prominent  figure  ;    cf.  xxxvii.  26. 

1  As  far  as  '  money.'  2  From  c  And  he  brought.' 


368  GENESIS  43.  10-18.     JEJ 

surety  for  him ;  of  my  hand  shalt  thou  require  him  :  if 
I  bring  him  not  unto  thee,  and  set  him  before  thee,  then  | 

10  let  me  bear  the  blame  for  ever :  for  except  we  had 
lingered,  surely  we  had  now  returned  a  second  time. 

11  And  their  father  Israel  said  unto  them,  If  it  be  so  now, 
do  this;  take  of  the  choice  fruits  of  the  land  in  your 
vessels,  and  carry  down  the  man  a  present,  a  little  balm, 
and  a  little  honey,  spicery  and  myrrh,  nuts,  and  almonds  : 

12  and  take  double  money  in  your  hand;  and  the  money 
that  was  returned  in  the  mouth  of  your  sacks  carry  again 

13  in  your  hand;  peradventure  it  was  an  oversight:  take 
also  your  brother,  and  arise,  go  again  unto  the  man  :  [E] 

14  and  God  Almighty  give  you  mercy  before  the  man,  that 
he  may  release  unto  you  your  other  brother  and  Ben- 
jamin. And  if  I  be  bereaved  of  my  children,  I  am 
bereaved. 

15  [J]  And  the  men  took  that  present,  and  they  took 
double  money  in  their  hand,  and  Benjamin ;  and  rose 
up,  and  went  down  to  Egypt,  and  stood  before  Joseph. 

16  And  when  Joseph  saw  Benjamin  with  them,  he  said  to 
the  steward  of  his  house,  Bring  the  men  into  the  house, 
and  slay,  and  make  ready ;  for  the  men  shall  dine  with 

17  me  at  noon.     And  the  man  did  as  Joseph  bade ;  and 

18  the  man  brought  the  men  into  Joseph's  house.  And  the 
men  were  afraid,  because  they  were  brought  into  Joseph's 
house ;  and  they  said,  Because  of  the  money  that  was 
returned  in  our  sacks  at  the  first  time  are  we  brought  in  ; 

9.  then  let  me  bear  the  "blame  for  ever:  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Heb. 
I  shall  have  sinned  against  thee  for  ever.' 

11.  balm  .  .  .  spicery  .  .  .  myrrh.     See  on  xxxvii.  25. 
nuts  :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  That  is,  pistachio  nuts.'' 

14  (E).  Almighty  :  Shaddai  (see  on  xvii.  1).  As  Shaddai  is  not 
used  by  either  J  or  E,  the  phrase  El  Shaddai  has  been  substituted 
by  an  editor  or  copyist  for  Elohim,  or  perhaps  EL 


GENESIS  43.  19-29.     JEJ  369 

that  he  may  seek  occasion  against  us,  and  fall  upon  us, 
and  take  us  for  bondmen,  and  our  asses.     And  they  19 
came  near  to  the  steward  of  Joseph's  house,  and  they 
spake  unto  him  at  the  door  of  the  house,  and  said,  Oh  20 
my  lord,  we  came  indeed  down  at  the  first  time  to  buy 
food :  and  it  came  to  pass,  when  we  came  to  the  lodging  21 
place,  that  we  opened  our  sacks,  and,  behold,  every  man's 
money  was  in  the  mouth  of  his  sack,  our  money  in  full 
weight :    and  we   have  brought   it  again  in  our  hand. 
And  other  money  have  we  brought  down  in  our  hand  to  22 
buy  food  :  we  know  not  who  put  our  money  in  our  sacks. 
And  he  said,  Peace  be  to  you,  fear  not :   your  God,  23 
and  the  God  of  your  father,  hath  given  you  treasure  in 
your  sacks :  I  had  your  money.     [E]  And  he  brought 
Simeon  out  unto  them.     [J]  And  the  man  brought  the  24 
men  into  Joseph's  house,  and  gave  them  water,  and  they 
washed  their  feet;  and  he  gave  their  asses  provender. 
And  they  made  ready  the  present  against  Joseph  came  25 
at  noon  :  for  they  heard  that  they  should  eat  bread  there. 
And  when  Joseph  came  home,  they  brought  him  the  26 
present  which  was  in  their  hand  into  the  house,  and 
bowed  down  themselves  to  him  to  the  earth.     And  he  27 
asked  them  of  their  welfare,  and  said,  Is  your  father  well, 
the  old  man  of  whom  ye  spake  ?   Is  he  yet  alive  ?   And  28 
I  they  said,  Thy  servant  our  father  is  well,  he  is  yet  alive. 
And  they  bowed  the  head,  and  made  obeisance.     And  39 
he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  Benjamin  his  brother,  his 
mother's  son,  and  said,  Is  this  your  youngest  brother,  of 
whom  ye  spake  unto  me  ?   And  he  said,  God  be  gracious 

18.  seek    occasion    against    us.      R.V.    marg.,    '  Heb.     roll 
himself  upon  us.' 

take  us  for  bondmen.  According  to  the  ancient  Israelite 
law,  Exod.  xxii.  af.,  the  thief  who  could  not  make  sufficient 
compensation  was  to  be  sold  as  a  slave. 

Bb 


37©  GENESIS  43.  30— 44.  1.     J 

30  unto  thee,  my  son.  And  Joseph  made  haste ;  for  his 
bowels  did  yearn  upon  his  brother  :  and  he  sought  where 
to  weep;  and  he  entered  into  his  chamber,  and  wept 

31  there.     And  he  washed  his  face,  and  came  out;  and  he 

32  refrained  himself,  and  said,  Set  on  bread.  And  they  set 
on  for  him  by  himself,  and  for  them  by  themselves,  and 
for  the  Egyptians,  which  did  eat  with  him,  by  themselves  : 
because  the  Egyptians  might  not  eat  bread  with  the 
Hebrews ;  for  that  is  an  abomination  unto  the  Egyptians, 

33  And  they  sat  before  him,  the  firstborn  according  to  his 
birthright,  and  the  youngest  according  to  his  youth  :  and 

34  the  men  marvelled  one  with  another.     And  he  took  and: 
sent  messes  unto  them  from  before  him  :  but  Benjamin's 
mess  was  five  times  so  much  as  any  of  theirs.     And  they 
drank,  and  were  merry  with  him. 

44      And  he  commanded  the  steward  of  his  house,  saying, , 

32.  the  Egyptians  might  not  eat  bread  with  the  Hebrews. 

In  later  times  the  Jews  would  not  eat  with  foreigners,  on  account; 
of  the  laws  as  to  ceremonial  cleanness  and  uncleanness  ;  and 
there  is  evidence  that  similar  customs  existed  amongst  the 
Egyptians. 

33.  the  firstborn  according*  to  his  birthright,  &c. :  i.  e. 
Joseph  had  them  arranged  in  order  of  seniority. 

34.  he  took  and  sent  messes:  R. V.  marg.,  'messes  were 5 
taken.'     '  Mess '  =  dish  or  portion. 

five   times   so   much:    a   mark  of  distinction.      Obviously 
Joseph  neither  expected   Benjamin   to  eat  five  times  too  much, 
nor  did  he  provide  the  other  brothers  with  too  little. 
were  merry:  R.V.  marg.,  'Heb.  drank  largely.' 

xliv,  xlv.  The  Reconciliation  of  Joseph  and  his  Brethren 
(JE). 

xliv.  (J.)  At  Joseph's  bidding  his  steward  hides  a  silver  cup 
in  Benjamin's  sack.  The  brethren  start  home,  are  overtaken,  and 
their  sacks  searched.  Joseph  proposes  to  keep  Benjamin  as  a, 
slave,  and  release  the  rest.     Judah  offers  himself  as  a  substitute. 

xlv.  (JE.)  Joseph  makes  himself  known  to  his  brethren.  At 
Pharaoh's  command  he  sends  them  to  fetch  Jacob  and  their 
families.     They  return  and  tell  Jacob. 

Sources,  &c.     The  interchange  of  the  names  Jacob  and  Israel, 


GENESIS  44.  2-10.     J  371 

Fill  the  men's  sacks  with  food,  as  much  as  they  can 
1  carry,  and  put  every  man's  money  in  his  sack's  mouth. 

And  put  my  cup,  the  silver  cup,  in  the  sack's  mouth  of  a 
i  the  youngest,  and  his  corn  money.     And  he  did  accord- 
ing to  the  word  that  Joseph  had  spoken.     As  soon  as    3 
the  morning  was  light,  the  men  were  sent  away,  they 
?nd  their  asses.     And  when  they  were  gone  out  of  the  4 
:ity,  and  were   not   yet  far   off,   Joseph  said   unto  his 
steward,  Up,  follow  after  the  men  5  and  when  thou  dost 
overtake  them,  say  unto  them,  Wherefore  have  ye  re- 
warded evil  for  good?   Is  not  this  it  in  which  my  lord    5 
drinketh,   and   whereby  he   indeed  divineth?   ye   have 
done  evil  in  so  doing.     And  he  overtook  them,  and  he   6 
spake  unto  them  these  words.     And  they  said  unto  him,    7 
Wherefore  speaketh  my  lord  such  words  as  these  ?  God 
forbid  that  thy  servants  should  do  such  a  thing.    Behold,    8 
the  money,  which  we  found  in  our  sacks'  mouths,  we 
brought  again  unto  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Canaan  :  how 
then  should  we  steal  out  of  thy  lord's  house  silver  or 
gold  ?  With  whomsoever  of  thy  servants  it  be  found,  let   9 
him  die,  and  we  also  will  be  my  lord's  bondmen.     And  10 


and  other  features,  show  that  ch.  xlv  is  combined  from  the  two 
sources ;   but  there  is  no  general  agreement  as  to  the  details  of 
the  narrative.     It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  Joseph's  intense  'v«.nt 
for   Benjamin   with  the   cruel   expedient  of  making  him   abrvant  ^2 

guilty  of  theft,  and  threatening  him  with  slavery  or  evenj 

Apparently   the   narrator   has    in    some    measure    sacrif 
character  of  his  hero  to  the  dramatic  necessities  of  the  stc/e  brotner 

4.  the  city.     There  is  nothing  to  show  which  city  is  ch?  man  \° 
good  :  the  feasting  and  the  generous  provision  of  cor'°^lve  eY*" 

5.  whereby  lie  .  .  .  divineth.    The  narrator  does  not  hiuld  not  be 
that  Joseph  divined  by  means  of  a  cup,  but  he  passes  over  ti. 

ment  without  comment;  cf.  also  verse  15  and  p.  296.    Divinatic 
means  of  a  cup  was  a  branch  of  ancient  magic,  and  consisted  in  thrc 
ing  fragments  of  gold  and  silver  into  a  cup,  and  drawing  conclusioi e,^" 
from  the  arrangement  into  which  they  fell.     We  might  compare 
telling  fortunes  by  means  of  tea-leaves  or  coffee-grounds  in  a  cup. 

b  b  2 


372  GENESIS  44.  n-20.     J 

he  said,  Now  also  let  it  be  according  unto  your  words : 

he  with  whom  it  is  found  shall  be  my  bondman ;  and  ye  i 
11  shall  be  blameless.     Then  they  hasted,  and  took  down 

every  man  his  sack  to  the  ground,  and  opened  every 
i2  man   his   sack.     And   he  searched,   a?id  began  at   the 

eldest,  and  left  at  the  youngest :  and  the  cup  was  found 

13  in  Benjamin's  sack.     Then  they  rent  their  clothes,  and 

14  laded  every  man  his  ass,  and  returned  to  the  city.  And 
Judah  and  his  brethren  came  to  Joseph's  house ;  and  he 
was  yet  there :  and  they  fell  before  him  on  the  ground. 

15  And  Joseph  said  unto  them,  What  deed  is  this  that  ye 
have  done  ?  know  ye  not  that  such  a  man  as  I  can  in- 

16  deed  divine?  And  Judah  said,  What  shall  we  say  unto 
my  lord  ?  what  shall  we  speak  ?  or  how  shall  we  clear 
ourselves  ?  God  hath  found  out  the  iniquity  of  thy  ser- 
vants :  behold,  we  are  my  lord's  bondmen,  both  we,  and 

17  he  also  in  whose  hand  the  cup  is  found.  And  he  said, 
God  forbid  that  I  should  do  so :  the  man.  in  whose  hand 
the  cup  is  found,  he  shall  be  my  bondman ;  but  as  for 
you,  get  you  up  in  peace  unto  your  father. 

18  Then  Judah  came  near  unto  him,  and  said,  Oh  my 
lord,  let  thy  servant,  I  pray  thee,  speak  a  word  in  my 
lord's  ears,  and  let  not  thine  anger  burn  against  thy 

jose^ant :  for  thou  art  even  as  Pharaoh.     My  lord  asked 

nor  di2rvants,  saying,  Have  ye  a  father,  or  a  brother  ?  And 

xliv*x^  unto  my  lord,  We  have  a  father,  an  old  man, 

(JE).  '     hild  of  his  old  age,  a  little  one ;  and  his  brother 

1    xliv.   (J. — — 

in  Benjair^  hath  found  out  the  ilxiqUity,  &c.  :  i.e.  the  theft  o\ 

eir  sac0f  wj1jcj1  jucjah  supposes  Benjamin  guilty.     According  tc 

s  ave.,itive  ideas,  the  sin  of  one  member  involved  the  whole  family: 

xthe  case  of  Achan.     '  God  '  because  a  Gentile  is  addressed. 
P^17.  There   seems   a   suggestion   here  that  Joseph  thought  oi 
keeping  his  favourite  brother  with  him,  without  making  himseli 
known  to  the  rest  of  his  family. 


GENESIS  44.  21-32.     J  373 

is  dead,  and  he  alone  is  left  of  his  mother,  and  his  father 
loveth  him.     And  thou  saidst  unto  thy  servants,  Bring  21 
him  down  unto  me,  that  I  may  set  mine  eyes  upon  him. 
And  we  said  unto  my  lord,  The  lad  cannot  leave  his  22 
father :  for  if  he  should  leave  his  father,  his  father  would 
die.     And  thou  saidst  unto  thy  servants,  Except   your  23 
youngest  brother  come  down  with  you,  ye  shall  see  my 
face  no  more.     And  it  came  to  pass  when  we  came  up  24 
unto  thy  servant  my  father,  we  told  him  the  words  of  my 
lord.     And  our  father  said,  Go  again,  buy  us  a  little  25 
food.      And   we    said,    We  cannot    go   down :    if   our  26 
youngest  brother  be  with  us,  then  will  we  go  down  :  for 
we  may  not  see  the  man's  face,  except  our  youngest 
brother  be  with  us.     And  thy  servant  my  father  said  27 
unto  us,  Ye  know  that  my  wife  bare  me  two  sons  :  and  28 
the  one  went  out  from  me,  and  I  said,  Surely  he  is  torn 
in  pieces ;   and  I  have  not  seen  him  since :    and  if  ye  29 
take  this  one  also  from  me,  and  mischief  befall  him,  ye 
shall  bring  down  my  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave. 
Now  therefore  when  I  come  to  thy  servant  my  father,  30 
and  the  lad  be  not  with  us ;  seeing  that  his  life  is  bound 
up  in  the  lad's  life;  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  he  seeth  31 
that  the  lad  is  not  with  tis,  that  he  will  die :  and  thy 
servants  shall  bring  down  the  gray  hairs  of  thy  servant 
our  father  with  sorrow  to  the  grave.     For  thy  servant  32 

20.  his  brother  is  dead.  A  most  dramatic  touch  ;  the  brother 
whose  death  was  announced  with  such  certainty  was  the  man  to 
whom  these  words  were  addressed.  Judah  had  no  positive  evi- 
dence that  Joseph  was  dead,  but  assumed  that  he  could  not  be 
alive  because  nothing  had  been  heard  of  him  for  so  long. 

29.  sorrow:  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Heb.  evil.' 
grave.     See  on  xxxvii.  35. 

30.  his  life  is  bound  up  in  the  lad's  life :  a  far  better  render- 
ing than  R.  V.  marg.,  '  his  soul  is  knit  with  the  lad's  soul.'  Cf. 
1  Sam.  xviii,  1. 


374  GENESIS  44.  33— 45.  7.     J  JE 

became  surety  for  the  lad  unto  my  father,  saying,  If 
I  bring  him  not  unto  thee,  then  shall  I  bear  the  blame 

33  to  my  father  for  ever.  Now  therefore,  let  thy  servant, 
I  pray  thee,  abide  instead  of  the  lad  a  bondman  to  my 

34  lord  ;  and  let  the  lad  go  up  with  his  brethren.  For  how 
shall  I  go  up  to  my  father,  and  the  lad  be  not  with  me  ? 
lest  I  see  the  evil  that  shall  come  on  my  father. 

45  [JE]  Then  Joseph  could  not  refrain  himself  before  all 
them  that  stood  by  him ;  and  he  cried,  Cause  every  man 
to  go  out  from  me.  And  there  stood  no  man  with  him, 
while  Joseph  made  himself  known  unto  his  brethren. 

2  And  he  wept  aloud :  and  the  Egyptians  heard,  and  the 

3  house  of  Pharaoh  heard.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his 
brethren,  I  am  Joseph;  doth  my  father  yet  live?  And 
his  brethren  could  not  answer  him ;  for  they  were  trou- 

4  bled  at  his  presence.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his  brethren, 
Come  near  to  me,  I  pray  you.  And  they  came  near. 
And  he  said,  I  am  Joseph  your  brother,  whom  ye  sold 

5  into  Egypt.  And  now  be  not  grieved,  nor  angry  with 
yourselves,  that  ye  sold  me  hither :  for  God  did  send  me 

6  before  you  to  preserve  life.  For  these  two  years  hath 
the  famine  been  in  the  land  :  and  there  are  yet  five 
years,  in  the  which  there  shall  be  neither  plowing  nor 

7  harvest.  And  God  sent  me  before  you  to  preserve  you 
a  remnant  in  the  earth,  and  to  save  you  alive  by  a  great 

2.  wept  aloud:    R.  V.   marg.,    l  Heb.  gave  forth  his  voice  in 
weeping. ' 

the  Egyptians  heard  will  come  from  J,  cf.  xliii.  32  ;  the 
parallel  phrase,  the  house  of  Pharaoh  heard,  from  E.  The 
1  Egyptians  '  will  be  the  Egyptian  members  of  Joseph's  household. 
The  statement  that  '  the  house  of  Pharaoh  heard  '  does  not  fit  in 
here,  and  no  doubt  stood  originally  in  a  different  context. 

7.  to  preserve  you  a  remnant :  rather,  '  that  you  might  remain.' 
by  a  great  deliverance :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  to  be  a  great  company 
that  escape.' 


GENESIS  45.  8-17.     JE  375 

deliverance.     So  now  it  was  not  you  that  sent  me  hither,    8 
but  God:  and  he  hath  made  me  a  father  to  Pharaoh, 
and  lord  of  all  his  house,  and  ruler  over  all  the  land  of 
I  Egypt.     Haste  ye,  and  go  up  to  my  father,  and  say  unto   9 
him,  Thus  saith  thy  son  Joseph,  God  hath  made  me  lord 
of  all  Egypt :  come  down  unto  me,  tarry  not :  and  thou  10 
shalt  dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen,  and  thou  shalt  be  near 
unto  me,  thou,  and  thy  children,  and  thy  children's  chil- 
dren, and  thy  flocks,  and  thy  herds,  and  all  that  thou 
hast:  and  there  will  I  nourish  thee;  for  there  are  yet  n 
five  years  of  famine;  lest  thou  come  to  poverty,  thou, 
and  thy  household,  and  all  that  thou  hast.     And,  behold,  12 
your  eyes  see,  and  the  eyes  of  my  brother  Benjamin,  that 
it  is  my  mouth  that  speaketh  unto  you.     And  ye  shall  13 
tell  my  father  of  all  my  glory  in  Egypt,  and  of  all  that  ye 
have  seen ;  and  ye  shall  haste  and  bring  down  my  father 
hither.     And  he  fell  upon  his  brother  Benjamin's  neck,  14 
and  wept;  and  Benjamin  wept  upon  his  neck.     And  he  15 
kissed  all  his  brethren,  and  wept  upon  them :  and  after 
that  his  brethren  talked  with  him. 

And  the  fame  thereof  was  heard  in  Pharaoh's  house,  16 
saying,  Joseph's  brethren  are  come:  and  it  pleased  Pha- 
raoh well,  and  his   servants.     And   Pharaoh   said  unto  17 
Joseph,  Say  unto  thy  brethren,  This  do  ye;  lade  your 


8.  a  father  to  Pharaoh.  If  this  is  figurative,  we  may  com- 
pare the  words  of  the  king  of  Israel  to  the  dying  prophet,  '  My 
father,'  2  Kings  xiii.  14  ;  and  the  phrase  applied  by  Artaxerxes  to 
Haman,  'who  .  .  .  is  a  second  father  unto  us,'  Rest  of  Esth. 
xiii.  6,  R.  V.  But,  according  to  some,  '  a  father  to  Pharaoh  '  is  an 
Egyptian  title  of  a  high  official. 

10.  Goshen :  the  district  east  of  the  Delta.  Goshen  may  be  the 
equivalent  of  the  Egyptian  Kcsn,  which  is  found  for  part  of  this 
district,  or  for  one  of  its  cities.  The  LXX  has  here  '  the  land  of 
Gesem  in  Arabia,'  where,  however,  Arabia  is  probably  the  name 
of  a  district  in  Egypt. 


376  GENESIS  45.  18-26.     JE 

18  beasts,  and  go,  get  you  unto  the  land  of  Canaan;  and 
'    take  your  father  and  your  households,  and  come  unto 

me :  and  I  will  give  you  the  good  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 

19  and  ye  shall  eat  the  fat  of  the  land.  Now  thou  art  com- 
manded, this  do  ye ;  take  you  wagons  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt  for  your  little  ones,  and  for  your  wives,  and  bring 

20  your  father,  and  come.     Also  regard  not  your  stuff;  for 

21  the  good  of  all  the  land  of  Egypt  is  yours.  And  the 
sons  of  Israel  did  so :  and  Joseph  gave  them  wagons, 
according  to  the  commandment  of  Pharaoh,  and  gave 

22  them  provision  for  the  way.  To  all  of  them  he  gave 
each  man  changes  of  raiment ;  but  to  Benjamin  he  gave 
three  hundred  pieces  of  silver,  and  five  changes  of  rai- 

23  ment.  And  to  his  father  he  sent  after  this  manner ;  ten 
asses  laden  with  the  good  things  of  Egypt,  and  ten  she- 
asses  laden  with  corn  and  bread  and  victual  for  his  father 

24  by  the  way.  So  he  sent  his  brethren  away,  and  they 
departed  :  and  he  said  unto  them,  See  that  ye  fall  not  out 

25  by  the  way.     And  they  went  up  out  of  Egypt,  and  came 

26  into  the  land  of  Canaan  unto  Jacob  their  father.  And 
they  told  him,  saying,  Joseph  is  yet  alive,  and  he  is  ruler 
over  all  the  land  of  Egypt.     And  his  heart  fainted,  for 

19.  Now  thou  art  commanded,  this  do  ye.  The  change  from 
'  thou  '  to  '  ye  '  is  awkward.  Probably  '  now  thou  art  commanded ' 
concludes  Pharaoh's  instructions  to  Joseph  ;  while  '  This  do  ye,' 
&c,  is  Joseph's  charge  to  his  brethren. 

wagons :  'agalah.  The  Egyptians  had  a  wagon  {'agolfe)  drawn 
by  oxen  ;  and  on  the  Assyrian  monuments  we  see  captive  women 
and  children  carried  in  a  kind  of  wagon. 

20.  stuff:  property  other  than  flocks  and  herds. 
good :  wealth. 

22.  three  hundred  pieces  of  silver  :  i.  e.  shekels,  the  price  of 
ten  slaves  ;  cf.  on  xx.  16. 

23.  the  good  things  of  Egypt.  Probably  rich  clothing,  jewels, 
ivory,  &c,  &c. 

26.  fainted:  lit.  'went  cold.' 


GENESIS  45.  27—46.  5.     JE  377 

he  believed  them  not.     And  they  told  him  all  the  words  27 
of  Joseph,  which  he  had  said  unto  them :  and  when  he 
saw  the  wagons  which  Joseph  had  sent  to  carry  him,  the 
spirit  of  Jacob  their  father  revived:  and  Israel  said,  It  is  28 
enough ;  Joseph  my  son  is  yet  alive :  I  will  go  and  see 
him  before  I  die. 

And  Israel  took  his  journey  with  all  that  he  had,  and  46 
came  to  Beer-sheba,  and  offered  sacrifices  unto  the  God 
of  his  father  Isaac.     And  God  spake  unto  Israel  in  the   2 
visions  of  the  night,  and  said,  Jacob,  Jacob.     And  he 
said,  Here  am  I.     And  he  said,  I  am  God,  the  God  of  3 
thy  father:  fear  not  to  go  down  into  Egypt;  for  I  will 
there  make  of  thee  a  great  nation :  I  will  go  down  with   4 
thee  into  Egypt;  and  I  will  also  surely  bring  thee  up 
again :  and  Joseph  shall  put  his  hand  upon  thine  eyes. 
And  Jacob  rose  up  from  Beer-sheba :  and  the  sons  of  5 
Israel  carried  Jacob  their  father,  and  their  little  ones, 
and  their  wives,  in  the  wagons  which  Pharaoh  had  sent 

xlvi.  1-7.  The  Migration  of  Israel  to  Egypt.  (Compiled 
from  J,  E,  and  P.) 

xlvi.  1-4.  Jacob  sacrifices  at  Beer-sheba  to  the  God  of  Isaac, 
who  appears  to  him  and  renews  the  Promise. 

xlvi.  5.     Jacob  and  his  family  continue  their  journey. 

xlvi.  6,  7  (P).     Jacob  and  his  family  go  down  to  Egypt. 

1.  Israel  .  .  .  with  all  that  he  had.  '  Israel'  points  to  J  ; 
'  with  all  that  he  had '  seems  inconsistent  with  xlv.  20,  which 
may  be  E. 

Beer-sheba.  As  far  as  our  information  goes,  Jacob  was  living 
near  Hebron,  xxxvii.  14  ;  and  Beer-sheba  was  on  the  way  from 
Hebron  to  Egypt. 

the  God  of  his  father  Isaac.  Cf.  xxxi.  53  ;  Isaac  was 
specially  connected  with  Beer-sheba. 

4.  bring  thee  up  again.  '  Thee '  is  the  nation,  Israel,  not  the 
individual  patriarch. 

put  his  hand  upon  thine  eyes.  Joseph  would  close  his  eyes 
when  he  died. 


378  GENESIS  46.  6-10.     JEP 

6  to  carry  him.  [P]  And  they  took  their  cattle,  and  their 
goods,  which  they  had  gotten  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 

7  came  into  Egypt,  Jacob,  and  all  his  seed  with  him :  his 
sons,  and  his  sons'  sons  with  him,  his  daughters,  and  his 
sons'  daughters,  and  all  his  seed  brought  he  with  him  into 
Egypt. 

8  And  these  are  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
which  came  into  Egypt,  Jacob  and  his  sons:   Reuben, 

9  Jacob's  firstborn.     And  the  sons  of  Reuben  5  Hanoch, 
10  and  Pallu,  and  Hezron,  and  Carmi.     And  the  sons  of 

7.  daughters.     Cf.  xxxvii.  35. 

xlvi.  8-27.     The  Clans  of  Israel  (P). 

A.  Leah.  xlvi.  8,  9,  Reuben  ;  10,  Simeon  ;  11,  Levi ;  12,  Judah  ; 
13,  Issachar  ;  14,  Zebulun  ;  15,  Dinah. 

B.  Zilpah.  xlvi.  16,  Gad  ;  17,  Asher. 

C.  Rachel,  xlvi.  20,  Joseph;  21,  Benjamin. 

D.  Bilhah.  xlvi.  23,  Dan  ;  24,  Naphtali. 

Sources,  &c.  This  section  is  commonly  regarded  as  a  late 
addition  to  P.  For  the  Twelve  Tribes  see  on  xxxv.  22  ff.  This 
passage  also  occurs  (a)  in  a  somewhat  expanded  form  as 
Num.  xxvi.  1-51,  Levi  being  omitted  ;  and  (6)  in  a  still  more 
expanded  form  as  1  Chron.  ii-viii.  The  Genesis  passage  may  be 
an  abstract  of  the  chapters  of  Chronicles.  The  '  sons  '  of  the 
various  patriarchs  are  the  subdivisions  or  clans  of  the  tribes.  The 
lists  of  this  passage  as  given  in  the  LXX  differ  in  some  respects 
from  the  Hebrew. 

Unless  anything  is  stated  to  the  contrary,  it  may  be  understood 
that  the  clan-names  given  here  occur  also  in  the  Numbers  and 
Chronicles  passages  and  nowhere  else.  Where  nothing  is  said 
as  to  the  derivation  of  a  name,  or  the  habitat  of  a  clan,  there  is  no 
certain  information  on  the  subject. 

xlvi.  9-1 1.     These  verses  also  occur  as  Exod.  vi.  14-16. 
9.  Reuben. 

Hanoch.     See  on  xxv.  4. 

Hezron  =  '  enclosure ' ;  in  verse  12  a  clan  of  Judah  (Perez)  ; 
cf.  on  xxxvi.  5.  The  clan  is  probably  named  after  the  city  Hezron, 
in  the  south  of  Judah,  Joshua  xv.  3,  25. 

Carmi:  perhaps  the  inhabitants  of  a  town  Cerem  =  'vineyard.' 
In  the  LXX  of  Joshua  xv.  59  there  is  a  town  'Cerem'  in  Judah, 
and  in  Neh.  iii.  14,  and  Jer.  vi.  1,  a  town  '  Beth-haccerem '  in 
Judah.     Possibly  a  town   Cerem  was  occupied  at  one  time  by 


GENESIS  46.  11-13.     P  379 

Simeon;  Jemuel,  and  Jamin,  and  Ohad,  and  Jachin, 
and  Zohar,  and  Shaul  the  son  of  a  Canaanitish  woman. 
And  the  sons  of  Levi;  Gershon,  Kohath,  and  Merari.  n 
And  the  sons  of  Judah ;  Er,  and  Onan,  and  Shelah,  and  12 
Perez,  and  Zerah  :  but  Er  and  Onan  died  in  the  land  of 
Canaan.  And  the  sons  of  Perez  were  Hezron  and 
Hamul.     And  the  sons  of  Issachar;  Tola,  and  Puvah,  13 

Judah,  and  at  another  by  Reuben.  Cf.  above  on  Hezron.  These 
and  other  names  in  i  i '  are  gentilic,  '  Carmites,'  &c. 

10.  Simeon. 

Jemuel :  in  Num.  xxvi.  12,  1  Chron.  iv.  24,  'Nemuel';  in 
Num.  xxvi.  9  Nemuel  is  a  clan  of  Reuben. 

Jamin  =  '  right  hand  '  or  '  southern  '  ;  cf.  on  Benjamin,  xxxv. 
18.  As  the  Simeonite  cities  lay  in  the  extreme  south  of  Palestine, 
'  Jamin'  is  a  suitable  name  for  a  division  of  Simeon.  In  1  Chron.  ii. 
27  Jamin  is  a  division  of  the  Judahite  clan  Hezron,  cf.  on  xxxvi. 
5  ;  and  in  Neh.  viii.  7  the  name  of  a  priest. 

Ohad :  omitted  in  Numbers  and  Chronicles ;  probably  an 
accidental  repetition  of  the  following  Zohar. 

Jachin  :  perhaps  a  contraction  of  Jehoiachin  or  Jeconiah  = 
'  Yahweh  establishes ' ;  also  the  name  of  one  of  the  pillars  in 
Solomon's  temple ;  and  of  a  priest,  and  of  a  priestly  family  after 
the  Captivity.  The  corresponding  name  in  1  Chron.  iv.  24  is 
1  Jarib.' 

Zohar:  in  Num.  xxvi.  13,  1  Chron.  iv.  24,  'Zerah.'  See  on 
xxiii.  8,  xxxvi.  17. 

Shaul  the  son  of  a  Canaanitish  woman.  Cf.  on  xxxvi.  37, 
an  intimation  that  one  of  the  clans  of  Simeon  contained  Canaanite 
elements. 

11.  sons  of  Levi.     These  clans  are  frequently  mentioned. 
Gershon :  in  1  Chron.  vi.  16  '  Gershom ' ;  probably  identical 

with  Gershom  the  son  of  Moses,  Exod.  ii.  22  ;  i.  e.  the  priestly 
family  of  Gershom  originally  traced  its  descent  to  Moses  ;  but  later 
on  the  family  were  reckoned,  not  as  priests,  but  as  Levites,  and 
were  styled  a  family  of  Levi. 

12.  Judah.     See  on  xxxviii. 
Hezron.'    See  on  verse  9. 

Hamul:  perhaps  identical  with  Hamuel,  a  division  of  the 
Simeonite  clan  Shaul,  1  Chron.  iv.  26 ;  see  on  Gen.  xxxvi.  5. 

13.  Issachar. 

Tola  =  '  crimson  worm.'  Probably  the  judge  Tola,  the  son 
of  Puah,  of  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  Judges  x.  1,  is  a  personification 
of  this  clan.     Cf.  next  note. 

Puvah  :  in  1  Chron.  vii.  1  'Puah,'  perhaps  a  plant  from  which 


380  GENESIS  46.  14-17.     P 

14  and   lob,    and   Shimron.     And   the   sons  of  Zebulun ; 

15  Sered,  and  Elon,  and  Jahleel.  These  are  the  sons  of 
Leah,  which  she  bare  unto  Jacob  in  Paddan-aram,  with 
his  daughter  Dinah :  all  the  souls  of  his  sons  and  his 

16  daughters  were  thirty  and  three.  And  the  sons  of  Gad; 
Ziphion,  and  Haggi,  Shuni,  and  Ezbon,  Eri,  and  Arodi, 

17  and  Areli.  And  the  sons  of  Asher;  Imnah,  and  Ishvah, 
and  Ishvi,  and  Beriah,  and  Serah  their  sister :  and  the 


a  red  dye  was  obtained.     Puah  the  father  of  Tola,  Judges  x.  1,  is 
probably  a  personification  of  this  clan.     Cf.  previous  note. 
lob:  in  i  Chron.  vii.  i,  Num.  xxvi.  24,  'Jashub.' 
Shimron:    in  Joshua  xix.   15  a   town   in   Zebulun;    cf.    on 
Hezron,  verse  9. 

14.  Zebulun.  There  is  no  enumeration  of  the  'sons'  of 
Zebulun  in  1  Chron.  ii-viii. 

Elon.  Cf.  xxvi.  34.  The  judge  Elon  the  Zebulonite,  Judges  xii. 
11,  may  be  a  personification  of  this  clan.  There  was  a  town  Elon 
in  Dan,  Joshua  xix.  43. 

15.  thirty  and  three.  The  names  of  the  sons,  grandsons,  and 
great-grandsons  in  verses  9-14  amount  to  thirty-four,  perhaps 
Dinah  in  verse  12  is  an  addition.  According  to  verse  8  the 
names  are  those  of  persons  '  which  came  into  Egypt ' ;  but,  as 
verse  12  tells  us,  '  Er  and  Onan  died  in  the  land  of  Canaan.' 
Perhaps  we  should  omit  Er  and  Onan,  and  include  Jacob  and 
Dinah. 

16.  the  sons  of  Gad  in  1  Chron.  v.  11-17  are  quite  different 
from  those  enumerated  here. 

Ziphion:  in  Num.  xxvi.  15  ' Zephon,'  'northern,'  probably 
identical  with  the  Gadite  city  Zaphon.  Joshua  xiii.  27.  Cf.  also 
1  Baal-zephon,'  Exod.  xiv.  2,  and  'Zepho,'  Gen.  xxxvi.  11. 

Hag-gi  =  '  the  festive,'  i.e.  'born  on  a  feast-day' ;  but  perhaps 
a  contraction  of  '  Haggiah  '  =  '  Yahweh  is  my  feast,'  a  division  of 
the  Levite  clan  Merari. 

Ezbon:  in  Num.  xxvi.  16  'Ozni';  in  1  Chron.  vii.  7  Ezbon 
is  a  division  of  the  clan  Bela  of  Benjamin  ;  cf.  on  xxxvi.  5. 

Eri :  probably  identical  with  '  Iri,'  a  division  of  the  clan  Bela, 
1  Chron.  vii.  7  ;  cf.  previous  note. 

Arodi:  i.e.  '  Arodite'  ;  in  Num.  xxvi.  17  'Arod.' 

17.  Asher. 

Ishvi :  omitted  in  Numbers ;  it  is  probably  an  accidental 
repetition  of  'Ishvah.' 

Beriah:  in  1  Chron.  vii.  23  a  clan  of  Ephraim  ;  in  1  Chron.  viii. 


GENESIS  46.  18-24.     P  381 

sons  of  Beriah;  Heber,  and  Malchiel.     These  are  the  18 
sons  of  Zilpah,  which  Laban  gave  to  Leah  his  daughter, 
and  these  she  bare  unto  Jacob,  even  sixteen  souls.     The  19 
sons   of  Rachel   Jacob's   wife;  Joseph   and   Benjamin. 
And  unto  Joseph  in  the  land  of  Egypt  were  born  Man-  20 
asseh  and  Ephraim,  which  Asenath  the  daughter  of  Poti- 
phera  priest  of  On  bare  unto  him.     And  the  sons  of  21 
Benjamin ;   Bela,  and  Becher,   and  Ashbel,   Gera,  and 
Naaman,  Ehi,  and  Rosh,  Muppim,  and  Huppim,  and 
Ard.     These  are  the  sons  of  Rachel,  which  were  born  to  22 
Jacob :   all  the  souls  were  fourteen.     And  the  sons  of  23 
Dan ;    Hushim.     And  the  sons  of  Naphtali  5   Jahzeel,  24 

13,  16  of  Benjamin;  in  1  Chron.  xxiii.  10,  11  of  Levi;  cf.  on 
xxxvi.  5. 

Serah.  The  Hebrew  consonants  are  different  from  those  in 
Sarah,  the  wife  of  Abraham. 

Heber  =  '  ally '  ;  in  1  Chron.  iv.  18  a  clan  of  Judah,  and  in 
1    Chron.  viii.    17   of  Benjamin.      The    'Heber'  of  the  A.  V.  of 

1  Chron.  v.  13,  viii.  22  is  spelt  differently  in  the  Hebrew  ;  the  latter 
is  the  same  name  as  the  '  Eber »  of  Gen.  x.  21,  and  is  the  origin  of 
our  word  '  Hebrew.' 

Malchiel  =  '  God  is  King.' 

20.  Joseph.     See  on  xli.  50  ff. 

21.  Benjamin. 

Becher  =  '  first-born '  or  '  camel.' 

Ashbel:  perhaps  a  corruption  of  'Ishbaal,'  'Man  of  Baal'; 
cf.  2  Sam.  xx.  1. 

Gera:  perhaps  connected  with  'ger,'  'resident  alien.'  In 
the  corrupt  and  obscure  passage  1  Chron.  viii.  1-8,  the  name 
occurs  three  times,  twice  for  'sons'  of  Bela.     Cf.  Judges  iii.  15; 

2  Sam.  xvi.  5. 

Naaman  =  '  pleasant ' ;  cf.  Naamah,  Naomi,  and  2  Kings  v.  1. 

Ehi :  in  Num.  xxvi.  38  '  Ahiram  ' ;  perhaps  the  same  as  Ehud, 
r  Chron.  vii.  10,  viii.  6. 

Rosh  =  'head' :  not  in  Numbers  or  Chronicles. 

Muppim:  in  Num.  xxvi.  39  ' Shephupham ' ;  in  1  Chron.  vii. 
12  l  Shuppim.' 

Huppim :  in  Num.  xxvi.  39  '  Hupham.' 

Ard :  in  1  Chron.  viii.  3  '  Addar.' 
23.  Dan. 

Hushim:  in  Num.  xxvi.  42  'Shuham.'     In  1  Chron.  vii.  12, 


382  GENESIS  46.  25-28.     PJ 

25  and  Gunij  and  Jezer,  and  Shillem.  These  are  the  sons 
of  Bilhah,  which  Laban  gave  unto  Rachel  his  daughter, 
and  these  she  bare  unto  Jacob  :  all  the  souls  were  seven. 

26  All  the  souls  that  came  with  Jacob  into  Egypt,  which 
came  out  of  his  loins,  besides  Jacob's  sons'  wives,  all  the 

27  souls  were  threescore  and  six;  and  the  sons  of  Joseph, 
which  were  born  to  him  in  Egypt,  were  two  souls :  all 
the  souls  of  the  house  of  Jacob,  which  came  into  Egypt, 
were  threescore  and  ten. 

28  [J]  And  he  sent  Judah  before  him  unto  Joseph,  to 

viii.  8  a  clan  of  Benjamin.     There  is  no  list  of  the  '  sons '  of  Dan 
in  1  Chron.  ii-viii. 

24.  Naphtali. 

Jahzeel  =  'God  divides';  in  1  Chron.  vii.  13  'Jahziel/ 
Guni:  in  1  Chron.  v.  15  a  clan  of  Gad. 
Shillem :  in  1  Chron.  vii.  13  '  Shallum.' 

26.  the  souls  that  came  with  Jacob:  R.  V.  marg.,  'souls 
belonging  to  Jacob  that  came.' 

26,  2*7.  threescore  and  six  .  . .  threescore  and  ten.  If  we  add 
the  figures  in  verses  15,  18,  22,  25,  we  get  33  +  16  +  14  +  7  =  70. 
No  doubt  this  was  the  original  number,  and  the  names  were  selected 
to  make  seventy  as  a  sacred  number.  But  probably  we  should  add 
Jacob,  and  omit  Dinah.  Then  the  sons  of  Leah  are  thirty-two, 
double  the  sons  of  the  handmaid  Zilpah,  sixteen  ;  and  the  sons 
of  Rachel,  fourteen,  double  the  sons  of  the  handmaid  Bilhah, 
seven  \  The  '  sixty-six  '  is  a  correction  of  an  editor  who  omitted 
Er  and  Onan,  because  they  never  came  to  Egypt,  and  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh,  because  they  were  born  in  Egypt.  The  LXX  of  verse 
27,  followed  by  Acts  vii.  14,  has  seventy-five,  a  number  obtained 
by  adding  three  grandsons  and  two  great-grandsons  of  Joseph  in 
verse  20. 

xlvi.  28-xlvii.  12.     Israel  in  Goshen  (J  and  P). 

xlvi.  28-xlvii.  4,  6b2  (J\  Joseph  meets  Israel ;  he  introduces 
five  of  the  brethren  to  Pharaoh  ;  they  obtain  from  the  king  per- 
mission to  settle  in  Goshen,  and  the  superintendentship  of  the 
royal  cattle. 

xlvii.  5,  6a3  7-1 1  (P).    [Jacob  and  his  sons  come  to  Joseph  in 

1  So  Dillmann.  2  From  '  in  the  land  of  Goshen.' 

3  As  far  as  '  brethren  to  dwell.' 


GENESIS  46.  29-34.     J  383 

shew  the  way  before  him  unto  Goshen ;  and  they  came 
into  the  land  of  Goshen.     And  Joseph  made  ready  his  29 
chariot,  and  went  up  to  meet  Israel  his  father,  to  Goshen; 
and  he  presented  himself  unto  him,  and  fell  on  his  neck, 
and  wept  on  his  neck  a  good  while.     And  Israel  said  30 
unto  Joseph,  Now  let  me  die,  since  I  have  seen  thy  face, 
that  thou  art  yet  alive.     And  Joseph  said  unto  his  breth-  31 
ren,  and  unto  his  father's  house,  I  will  go  up,  and  tell 
Pharaoh,  and  will  say  unto  him,  My  brethren,  and  my 
father's  house,  which  were  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  are 
come  unto  me;  and  the  men  are  shepherds,  for  they  32 
have  been  keepers  of  cattle;    and  they  have  brought 
their  flocks,   and  their  herds,  and  all  that  they  have. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  Pharaoh  shall  call  you,  33 
and  shall  say,  What  is  your  occupation  ?  that  ye  shall  34 
say,  Thy  servants  have  been  keepers  of  cattle  from  our 
youth  even  until  now,  both  we,  and  our  fathers :  that  ye 
may  dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen ;  for  every  shepherd  is 
an  abomination  unto  the  Egyptians. 

Egypt1.]  Joseph  introduces  Jacob  to  Pharaoh.  Jacob,  at  the 
age  of  130,  blesses  Pharaoh.  Joseph  settles  Jacob  and  his  family 
in  the  land  of  Rameses. 

28.  to  shew  the  way  before  him  tinto  Goshen.  This  English 
phrase  is  presumably  intended  to  mean  '  to  go  before  him,  and 
show  him  the  way,'  &c.  ;  but  the  Hebrew  can  hardly  mean  this. 
The  text  is  probably  corrupt.  The  LXX  has  { to  meet  him  at B 
i  Heroonpolis  in  3  the  land  of  Rameses.'  Heroonpolis  was  perhaps 
^t  by  reading  the  Hebrew  word  rendered  '  show  the  way,'  horoth, 
proper  name.  Heroonpolis  is  Pithom  to  the  east  of  Goshen. 
Witix  this  reading  the  verse  would  mean  that  Israel  sent  Judah  to 
arrange  that  Joseph  should  meet  him.  The  Samaritan-Hebrew 
text  and  the  S3'riac  version  have  a  reading 4,  '  to  appear  before 
him,'  which  would  give  a  similar  sense. 

32.  cattle5:  a  comprehensive  term  including  oxen,  sheep, 
goats,  &c. 

34.  every  shepherd  is  an  abomination  unto  the  Egyptians. 

1  See  notes  on  xlvii.  5  ff.  2  Keith? .  3  Eis. 

4  Hera'oth  for  horoth.  5  Miqneh. 


384  GENESIS  47.  i-5.     JP 

47  Then  Joseph  went  in  and  told  Pharaoh,  and  said,  My 
father  and  my  brethren,  and  their  flocks,  and  their  herds, 
and  all  that  they  have,  are  come  out  of  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan;  and,   behold,   they  are  in  the  land  of  Goshen. 

2  And  from  among  his  brethren  he  took  five  men,  and  ; 

3  presented  them  unto  Pharaoh.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto 
his  brethren,  What  is  your  occupation?  And  they  said 
unto  Pharaoh,  Thy  servants  are  shepherds,  both  we,  and  J 

4  our  fathers.     And  they  said  unto  Pharaoh,  To  sojourn  I 
in  the  land  are  we  come;  for  there  is  no  pasture  for  thy 
servants'  flocks;   for  the  famine  is  sore  in  the  land  of 
Canaan :  now  therefore,  we  pray  thee,  let  thy  servants 

5  dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen.  [P]  And  Pharaoh  spake 
unto  Joseph,  saying,  Thy  father  and  thy  brethren  are 

Erman1  writes:  i  In  the  marshy  districts  the  cattle  were  kept  by 
men  who  were  scarcely  regarded  by  the  true  Egyptian  as  his 
equals.  The  manner  in  which  the  sculptors  of  the  Old  Empire 
designated  the  marshmen  shows  that  they  considered  them  rather 
as  pariahs.  Such  a  man  might  be  indispensable  as  a  good  herds- 
man .  .  .  but  he  was  all  too  dirty.'  The  story  probably  indicates 
that  Joseph  made  this  arrangement  in  order  that  his  family  might 
not  be  absorbed  by  the  Egyptians,  but  might  maintain  their 
distinct  nationality,  and  be  ready  hereafter  to  fulfil  their  Divine 
mission. 

xlvii.  4.  no  pasture :  owing  to  the  drought  which  had  caused 
the  famine. 

5  (P).  And  Pharaoh,  spake  nnto  Joseph.  The  LXX  read1-  n 
'And  Jacob  and  his  sons  came  into  Egypt  to  Joseph  ?d  *» 
Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt  heard  of  it.  And  Pharaoh  smlj 
Joseph,'  &c.  This  must  have  been  the  original  te~  r1  ,,-nfeh 
obviously  arose  by  combining  two  documents.  One  of  the  copyists 
of  the  Hebrew  text  noticed  the  inconsistency  of  the  sentence  with 
what  preceded,  and  omitted  it. 

1  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  Eng.  trans.,  p.  439. 

2  The  LXX  also  has  6h  preceded  by  'And  Pharaoh  said  unto 
Joseph,'  immediately  after  verse  4,  thus  keeping  all  the  P  material 
together;   no  doubt  this  was  the  original  arrangement. 


GENESIS  47.  6-10.     P  J  P  385 

come  unto  thee :  the  land  of  Egypt  is  before  thee ;  in   6 
the  best  of  the  land  make  thy  father  and  thy  brethren  to 
dwell ;  [J]  in  the  land  of  Goshen  let  them  dwell :  and 
if  thou  knowest  any  able  men  among  them,  then  make 
them  rulers  over  my  cattle.     [P]  And  Joseph  brought  in    7 
Jacob   his   father,   and   set  him   before  Pharaoh :    and 
Jacob  blessed  Pharaoh.     And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Jacob,    8 
How  many  are  the  days  of  the  years  of  thy  life  ?  And  9 
Jacob  said  unto  Pharaoh,  The  days  of  the  years  of  my 
pilgrimage  are  an  hundred  and  thirty  years :  few  and 
evil  have  been  the  days  of  the  years  of  my  life,  and  they 
have  not  attained  unto  the  days  of  the  years  of  the  life 
of  my  fathers   in   the  days  of  their  pilgrimage.     And  10 

The  LXX  therefore  of  verses  4-6  runs  as  follows,  the  words  in 
brackets  being  found  only  in  the  LXX 1 : — 

4  (J).  'And  they  said  unto  Pharaoh,  To  sojourn  in  the  land  are 
we  come  ;  for  there  is  no  pasture  for  thy  servants'  flocks  ;  for  the 
famine  is  sore  in  the  land  of  Canaan  :  now  therefore,  we  pray 
thee,  let  thy  servants  dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen.  [And  Pharaoh 
said  unto  Joseph]  6b.  In  the  land  of  Goshen  let  them  dwell :  and 
if  thou  knowest  any  able  men  among  them,  then  make  them  rulers 
over  my  cattle.' 

(P)  '  [And  Jacob  and  his  sons  came  into  Egypt  to  Joseph.  And 
Pharaoh  the  king  of  Egypt  heard.]  5.  And  Pharaoh  spake  unto 
Joseph,  saying,  Thy  father  and  thy  brethren  are  come  unto  thee  : 
6a.  the  land  of  Egypt  is  before  thee  ;  in  the  best  of  the  land  make 
thy  father  and  thy  brethren  to  dwell.' 

6b  (J),  able  men  :  R.  V.  marg.,  'men  of  activity.' 

rulers  over  my  cattle.  The  superintendents  of  tne  royal 
herds  were  important  officials. 

9  (P).  pilgrimage :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  sojournings.' 

few:  only  130.  Isaac  lived  to  be  180,  xxxv.  28  (P) ;  and 
Abraham  to  be  175,  xxv.  7  (P)  ;  the  patriarchs  of  ch.  xi  (P)  longer 
periods  ;  and  the  antediluvians  of  ch.  v  (P)  still  longer,  the  climax 
being  reached  in  the  969  years  of  Methuselah. 

evil.  The  word  recalls  his  exile  ;  his  strife  with  Laban,  and 
with  Esau  ;  his  suffering  through  the  misdoings  of  Reuben, 
Simeon,  and  Levi ;  and,  last  and  worst  of  all,  his  supposed  bereave- 
ment of  Joseph. 

1  Cf.  Oxford  Hexateuch. 

c  c 


386  GENESIS  47.  n-15.     PJ 

Jacob  blessed  Pharaoh,  and  went  out  from  the  presence 
11  of  Pharaoh.  And  Joseph  placed  his  father  and  his 
brethren,  and  gave  them  a  possession  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  in  the  best  of  the  land,  in  the  land  of  RameseSj 
ia  as  Pharaoh  had  commanded.  [J]  And  Joseph  nour- 
ished his  father,  and  his  brethren,  and  all  his  father^ 
household,  with  bread,  according  to  their  families. 

13  And  there  was  no  bread  in  all  the  land ;  for  the 
famine  was  very  sore,  so  that  the  land  of  Egypt  and  the 

14  land  of  Canaan  fainted  by  reason  of  the  famine.  And 
Joseph  gathered  up  all  the  money  that  was  found  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  for  the  corn 
which  they  bought :  and  Joseph  brought  the  money  into 

15  Pharaoh's  house.  And  when  the  money  was  all  spent 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  all  the 
Egyptians  came  unto  Joseph,  and  said,  Give  us  bread : 
for  why  should  we  die  in  thy  presence?  for  our  money 

11  (P).  the  land  of  Pameses  :  only  here  and  in  the  LXX  of 
xlvi.  28.  This  'land'  is  no  doubt  the  district  of  the  city  of 
Rameses,  Exod.  i.  11.  The  situation  of  Rameses  is  not  certainly 
known,  but  it  is  often  placed  a  little  to  the  west  of  Tell-el-Kebir. 
i.  e.  in  Goshen. 

12  (J),  according"  to  their  families:  R.  V.  marg.,  'according 
to  the  number  of  their  little  ones.' 

xlvii.  13-26.    The  Famine  in  Egypt  (J). 

xlvii.  13,  14.  Joseph  receives  all  the  Egyptians'  money  for  corn. 

xlvii.  15-17.   He  takes  all  their  cattle,  &c,  for  corn. 

xlvii.  18-22.  He  takes  them  and  their  land  for  corn  ;  except  the 
priests  and  their  land. 

xlvii.  23-26.  He  makes  a  law  that  a  fifth  of  the  produce  of  the 
land  should  go  to  Pharaoh.     The  priests  are  exempted. 

15.  when  the  money  was  all  spent.  Under  ordinary  circum- 
stances the  '  money '  or  silver  would  have  been  largely  paid  out 
again  by  the  government  in  pensions,  wages,  purchase  of  goods,  Sec. 
The  story  does  not  tell  us  why  this  did  not  happen.  • 

all  the  Egyptians.     We  are  not  told  what  happened  in  the 
land  of  Canaan. 


GENESIS  47.  16-19.     J  387 

i 

j   faileth.     dnd  Joseph  said,  Give  your  cattle;  and  I  will  16 
j  give   you    for  your  cattle,    if   money    fail.     And    they  17 
I  brought  their  cattle  unto  Joseph  :  and  Joseph  gave  them 
j  bread  in  exchange  for  the  horses,  and  for  the  flocks,  and 
for  the  herds,  and  for  the  asses :  and  he  fed  them  with 
bread  in  exchange  for  all  their  cattle  for  that  year.     And  18 
when   that  year  was  ended,  they  came  unto  him  the 
second  year,  and  said  unto  him,  We  will  not  hide  from 
my  lord,  how  that  our  money  is  all  spent :  and  the  herds 
of  cattle  are  my  lord's ;  there  is  nought  left  in  the  sight 
of  my  lord,  but  our  bodies,  and  our  lands :   wherefore  j9 
should  we  die  before  thine  eyes,  both  we  and  our  land  ? 
buy  us  and  our  land  for  bread,  and  we  and  our  land  will 
be  servants   unto  Pharaoh:   and  give  us  seed,  that  we 
may  live,  and  not  die,  and  that  the  land  be  not  desolate. 


17.  horses.  There  is  at  present  no  strong  evidence  that  horses 
were  known  in  Egypt  before  the  eighteenth  dynasty1,  which  began 
about  b.c.  1530.  By  sacrificing  the  chronological  statements  of 
the  O.  T.  it  might  be  possible  to  date  Joseph  after  this  time. 

flocks,  and  for  the  herds :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Heb.  cattle  of  the 
flocks,  and  for  the  cattle  of  the  herds.' 

fed  them:  R.  V.  marg.,  'Heb.  led  them  as  a  shepherd.' 
Apparently,  too,  Joseph's  stores  enabled  him  to  feed  all  the  cattle 
as  well. 

19.  seed.  Cf.  verse  23,  l  here*  is  seed  for  you,  and  ye  shall  sow 
the  land.'  These  words  imply  that  this  transaction  took  place  in 
the  last  year  of  the  famine,  so  that  the  people  could  sow,  and 
expect  a  return.  It  can  hardly  be  meant  that  Joseph  sold  the 
people  seed  at  a  most  exorbitant  price,  when  he  knew  it  would  be 
useless.  Moreover,  b}'  this  time  everybody  would  know  about 
Pharaoh's  dreams  and  their  interpretation.  In  xlv.  11  two  years 
of  famine  had  elapsed.  Apparently  the  people  had  money  and 
stores  enough  to  keep  them  five  years,  they  lived  a  year  on  the 
price  of  the  cattle,  and  another  year  on  that  of  the  land,  &c.  But 
the  story  must  not  be  pressed  in  these  details.  In  any  case 
Joseph  drove  a  hard  bargain  with  the  starving  people  ;  he  took 
them  and  their  land  for  a  year's  food  and  seed  for  the  next  sowing. 


Erman,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  Eng.  trans.,  p.  490. 


388  GENESIS  47.  20-24.     J 

20  So  Joseph  bought  all  the  land  of  Egypt  for  Pharaoh ; 
for  the  Egyptians  sold  every  man  his  field,  because  the  ; 
famine  was   sore   upon   them :    and   the   land   became   r 

21  Pharaoh's.  And  as  for  the  people,  he  removed  them  g 
to  the  cities  from  one  end  of  the  border  of  Egypt  even  ,' 

22  to  the  other  end  thereof.     Only  the  land  of  the  priests  ,, 
bought  he  not :  for  the  priests  had  a  portion  from  Pha- 
raoh, and  did  eat  their  portion  which  Pharaoh  gave  them; 

23  wherefore  they  sold  not  their  land.  Then  Joseph  said  F 
unto  the  people,  Behold,  I  have  bought  you  this  day  - 
and  your  land  for  Pharaoh :  lo,  here  is  seed  for  you,  and  1 

24  ye  shall  sow  the  land.     And  it  shall  come  to  pass  at  the  - 1 


20,  21.  the  laud  became  Pharaoh's.     And  as  for  the  people, 
he  removed  them  to  the  cities.    R.  V.  marg.  '  according  to  Samar-    • 
[itan-Hebrew  text',  Sept.  and  Vulg.,  "he  made  bondmen  [i.e.    . 
slaves]  of  them."  '    According  to  the  theory  of  many  eastern  States, 
e.  g.  ancient  Persia,  both  the  land  and  the  inhabitants  were  the   : 
property  of  the  sovereign.     After  the  Norman  Conquest  the  land  j 
of  England  was  in  theory  the  property  of  the  king.     No  doubt 
our  author  in  this  passage  gives  a  fairly  accurate  account  of  the 
tenure  of  land  in  Egypt  in  his  time.     We  learn  from  the  monu- 
ments that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  land  in  Egypt  was  held 
either  by  the  king  or  by  the  priests  ;  but  there  does  not  seem  as  '• 
yet  to  be  any  conclusive  confirmation  of  the  whole  of  the  state- 
ments  in   this  chapter   as  to   tenure  of  land.     The  monuments 
do  not  confirm   the  statement  that  this  tenure  originated   with 
Joseph. 

In  verse  21  the  reading  of  the  Samaritan  text  and  the  versions 
is  no  doubt  correct.  R.  V.  text  would  imply  that  Joseph  placed 
the  people  in  the  cities  for  convenience  in  feeding  them  ;  but,  if 
so,  how  could  they  use  their  seed  ? 

22.  the  land  of  the  priests.  The  priests,  we  learn  from  the 
monuments,  had  vast  estates,  like  the  monasteries  and  clergy  in 
the  Middle  Ages  ;  and  these  estates  certainly  remained  the  pro- 
perty of  the  priests. 

the  priests  had  a  portion  from  Pharaoh :  an  exceptional 
provision  for  the  time  of  famine.  The  Egyptian  kings  often  made 
gifts  of  corn,  &c,  to  the  temples  ;  but  it  was  not  a  regular  custom 
for  the  king  to  provide  the  priests  with  food. 

23.  Cf.  verse  19. 


GENESIS  47.  25-30.     JP  J  389 

.  ingatherings,  that  ye  shall  give  a  fifth  unto  Pharaoh,  and 
four  parts  shall  be  your  own,  for  seed  of  the  field,  and 
for  your  food,  and  for  them  of  your  households,  and  for 
food  for  your  little  ones.     And  they  said,  Thou  hast  25 
saved  our  lives :  let  us  find  grace  in  the  sight  of  my  lord, 
and  we  will  be  Pharaoh's  servants.     And  Joseph  made  it  26 
a  statute  concerning  the  land  of  Egypt  unto  this  day, 
that  Pharaoh  should  have  the  fifth ;  only  the  land  of  the 
priests  alone  became  not  Pharaoh's.     And  Israel  dwelt  27 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  in  the  land  of  Goshen ;  [Pj  and 
they  gat  them  possessions  therein,  and  were  fruitful,  and 
multiplied  exceedingly. 

And  Jacob  lived  in  the  land  of  Egypt  seventeen  years:  28 
so  the  days  of  Jacob,  the  years  of  his  life,  were  an  hun- 
dred forty  and  seven  years.  [J]  And  the  time  drew  near  29 
that  Israel  must  die :  And  he  called  his  son  Joseph,  and 
;  said  unto  him,  If  now  I  have  found  grace  in  thy  sight, 
[  put,  I  pray  thee,  thy  hand  under  my  thigh,  and  deal 
kindly  and  truly  with  me ;  bury  me  not,  I  pray  thee,  in 

'    Egypt :   but  when  I  sleep  with  my  fathers,  thou  shalt  30 

t 

I 

'         24.  a  fifth  unto  Pharaoh.     Erraan  } :  'The  greater  part  of  the 
harvests  which  the  peasant-serfs  reaped  from  the  treasury  lands, 
1    as  well  as  the  material  woven  or  spun  by  their  wives,  belonged  of 
\    course  to  the  State,  and  was  collected  mercilessly.' 

xlvii.  27  31.     Israel's  Last  Days  (P  and  J). 

\        xlvii.  27 a2  (J).     Israel  dwells  in  Egypt. 

xlvii.  26b3,    28  (P).     Jacob's   family    prosper  in    Egypt.     He 
1    attains  the  age  of  147. 

xlvii.  29-31  (J).     Jacob  makes  Joseph  promise  to  bury  him  in 
,    Canaan. 

29.  thy  hand  under  my  thigh.     See  on  xxiv.  2. 
their  hnrying'-place.     Cf.  xxxv.  20. 

1  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  Eng.  trans.,  p.  122  ;  italics  are  our  own. 

2  As  far  as  '  Goshen.'  s  From  '  and  they  gat.' 


39©  GENESIS  47.  31— 48.  5.     J  JE  P 

carry  me  out  of  Egypt,  and  bury  me  in  their  burying- 
31  place.     And  he  said,  I  will  do  as  thou  hast  said.     And 
he  said,  Swear  unto  me :  and  he  sware  unto  him.     And 
Israel  bowed  himself  upon  the  bed's  head. 

48      [JE]  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these  things,  that  one 
said  to  Joseph,  Behold,  thy  father  is  sick :  and  he  took 

2  with  him  his  two  sons,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim.  And 
one  told  Jacob,  and  said,  Behold,  thy  son  Joseph  cometh 
unto  thee :    and   Israel  strengthened   himself,  and  sat 

3  upon  the  bed.  [P]  And  Jacob  said  unto  Joseph,  God 
Almighty  appeared  unto  me  at  Luz  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 

4  and  blessed  me,  and  said  unto  me,  Behold,  I  will  make 
thee  fruitful,  and  multiply  thee,  and  I  will  make  of  thee 
a  company  of  peoples ;   and  will  give  this  land  to  thy 

5  seed  after  thee  for  an  everlasting  possession.     And  now 

31.  Israel  bowed  himself  upon  the  bed's  head:  rather,  '  Israel 
worshipped,'  gave  Yahvveh  thanks  for  Joseph's  promise,  (sup- 
porting himself)  'on  the  head,'  or  pillow,  'of  the  bed.'  It  has 
been  suggested  that  in  the  original  form  of  the  story  there  was  an 
image  at  the  head  of  the  bed,  which  Jacob  worshipped.  The 
LXX,  by  giving  the  Hebrew  consonants  different  vowels,  gets 
1  his  staff'  instead  of  'bed.' 

xlvrii.  The  Blessing  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  (JE  and  P). 

xlviii.   1,  2  (JE).     Joseph  takes  his  sons  to  his  father. 

xlviii.  3-6  (P).     Jacob  adopts  Ephraim  and  Manasseh. 

xlviii.  7-22  (JE).  Israel-Jacob  adopts  Ephraim  and  Manasseh, 
and  blesses  them  ;  but  gives  the  chief  blessing  to  Ephraim,  the 
younger  son. 

Sources,  &c.  This  chapter  is  a  piece  of  tribal  history1. 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  though  originally  only  divisions  of  a  tribe, 
ultimately  attained  to  the  status  of  full  tribes.  In  older  times 
Manasseh,  in  more  recent  times  Ephraim,  was  pre-eminent.  The 
blessing  of  Jacob  the  Patriarch  represents  the  solemn  approval  of 
these  arrangements  by  the  people  of  Israel. 

3.  God  Almighty :  R.  V.  marg., '  Heb.  ElShaddaV  See  on  xvii.  1. 
Luz.     See  on  xxxv.  6. 

1  See  p.  47. 


GENESIS  48.  6-13.     P  JE  391 

thy  two  sons,  which  were  born  unto  thee  in  the  land  of 
Egypt  before  I  came  unto  thee  into  Egypt,  are  mine; 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  even  as  Reuben  and  Simeon, 
shall   be  mine.     And  thy  issue,  which  thou  begettest   6 
i  after  them,  shall  be  thine  •  they  shall  be  called  after  the 
name  of  their  brethren  in  their  inheritance.     [JE]  And   7 
as  for  me,  when  I  came  from  Paddan,  Rachel  died  by 
me  in  the  land  of  Canaan  in  the  way,  when  there  was 
still  some  way  to  come  unto  Ephrath  :  and  I  buried  her 
there  in  the  way  to  Ephrath  (the  same  is  Beth-lehem). 
And  Israel  beheld  Joseph's  sons,  and   said,  Who  are   8 
;  these  ?  And  Joseph  said  unto  his  father,  They  are  my   9 
j  sons,  whom  God  hath  given  me  here.     And  he  said, 
I  Bring  them,  I  pray  thee,  unto  me,  and  I  will  bless  them. 
,  Now  the  eyes  of  Israel  were  dim  for  age,  so  that  he  could  10 
!  not  see.     And  he  brought  them  near  unto  him ;  and  he 
:  kissed  them,  and  embraced  them.     And  Israel  said  unto  11 
!>  Joseph,  I  had  not  thought  to  see  thy  face :  and,  lo,  God 
hath  let  me  see  thy  seed  also.     And  Joseph   brought  12 
them  out  from  between  his  knees ;  and  he  bowed  him- 
|  self  with  his  face  to  the  earth.     And  Joseph  took  them  13 
I  both,   Ephraim   in   his  right  hand   toward   Israel's  left 
hand,   and   Manasseh  in  his  left  hand  toward   Israel's 

5.  Beuben  and  Simeon  :  the  two  eldest  sons. 

6.  thy  issue,  which  thou  beg-ettest  (R.  V.  marg.,  '  hast  begot- 
ten ')  after  them.  No  other  children  of  Joseph  are  mentioned.  The 

i    verse,  however,  served  to  bar  the  claim  of  any  clan  not  of  Eph- 
i  raim  or  Manasseh  to  belong  to  Joseph. 

shall  be  called  after  the  name  of  their  brethren  :  reckoned 
as  of  one  of  the  tribes  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh. 

7.  Cf.  xxxv.  19  (J). 

by  me :  R.  V.  marg. ,  '  to  my  sorrow.' 

8.  Who  are  these  ?    Cf.  verse  10. 
10.  Cf.  Isaac,  xxvii.  1. 

12.  brought  thorn  out  from  between  his  knees :  rather,  '  took 
t  them  from  his  (Jacob's;  knees  ' ;  they  are  thought  of  as  children. 

13.  Manasseh  ,  .  ,  toward  Israel's  right  hand  :  that  Israel 


392  GENESIS  48.  14-19.     JE 

14  right  hand,  and  brought  them  near  unto  him.  And 
Israel  stretched  out  his  right  hand,  and  laid  it  upon 
Ephraim's  head,  who  was  the  younger,  and  his  left  hand 
upon  Manasseh's  head,  guiding  his  hands  wittingly ;  for 

15  Manasseh  was  the  firstborn.  And  he  blessed  Joseph, 
and  said,  The  God  before  whom  my  fathers  Abraham 
and  Isaac  did  walk,  the  God  which  hath  fed  me  all  my 

16  life  long  unto  this  day,  the  angel  which  hath  redeemed 
me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lads ;  and  let  my  name  be 
named  on  them,  and  the  name  of  my  fathers  Abraham 
and  Isaac;  and  let  them  grow  into  a  multitude  in  the 

17  midst  of  the  earth.  And  when  Joseph  saw  that  his 
father  laid  his  right  hand  upon  the  head  of  Ephraim,  it 
displeased  him  :  and  he  held  up  his  father's  hand,  to 
remove  it  from  Ephraim's  head  unto  Manasseh's  head. 

18  And  Joseph  said  unto  his  father,  Not  so,  my  father:  for 
this  is  the  firstborn ;  put  thy  right  hand  upon  his  head. 

19  And  his  father  refused,  and  said,  I  know  //,  my  son,  I 
know  it:  he  also  shall  become  a  people,  and  he  also 
shall  be  great :  howbeit  his  younger  brother  shall  be 
greater  than  he,  and  his  seed  shall  become  a  multitude 


might  lay  his  right  hand  on  Manasseh's  head.  This  i  laying  on 
of  hands '  would  be  part  of  the  ritual  of  blessing  ;  as  it  was  of 
sacrifices,  &c.,  &c.  The  right  hand,  as  the  more  capable,  was  the 
symbol  of  pre-eminence. 

14.  Cf.  above,  '  Sources,  &c.'  Jacob,  like  his  father  Isaac, 
blesses  the  younger  more  than  the  elder  ;  but  Jacob  does  so  witting- 
ly, whether  that  be  expressly  stated  here  or  no  ;  cf.  verse  19. 

guiding  his  hands  wittingly:  R.  V.  marg.,   'crossing  his 
hands.' 

16.  angel :  i.  e.  the  angel  of  God  or  of  Yahweh  ;  cf.  xvi.  7,  xxi. 

17. 

let  my  name  be  named  on  them :  i.  e.  '  let  them  be  reckoned 
as  my  sons.' 

19.  Cf.  '  Sources,  &c.' 

multitude:   R.V.  marg.,  \  Heb.  fulness/ 


GENESIS  48.  20—  49.  1.     JE  J  393 


of 


nations.     And  he  blessed  them  that  day,  saying,  In  30 
thee    shall    Israel    bless,    saying,    God    make    thee    as 
Ephraim  and  as  Manasseh :  and  he  set  Ephraim  before 
Manasseh.     And  Israel  said  unto  Joseph,  Behold,  I  die :  2 1 
but  God  shall  be  with  you,  and  bring  you  again  unto  the 
land  of  your  fathers.     Moreover  I  have  given  to  thee  22 
one  portion  above  thy  brethren,  which  I  took  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  Amorite  with  my  sword  and  with  my  bow. 

[J]  And  Jacob  called  unto  his  sons,  and  said  :  Gather  49 

20.  In  (R.  V.  marg.,  '  By  ')  thee. 

21.  bring-  you  again :  you,  i.  e.  the  people  of  Israel. 

22.  one  portion  (R.  V.  marg.,  '  mountain  slope.    Heb.  shechem, 
shoulder ')  above  thy  brethren. 

which  I  took  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Amorite  with  my 
sword  and  with  my  bow.  This  verse  implies  a  conquest  of 
Shechem  by  united  Israel,  and  a  special  gift  of  the  city  to  the 
tribe  of  Joseph.  Verses  21,  22  are  commonly  given  to  E  ;  as  are 
also  the  statements  in  xxxiii.  19  that  Jacob  came  in  peace  to 
Shechem  and  bought  land  there  :  and  portions  of  the  story  in 
ch.  xxxiv  that  Simeon  and  Levi  sacked  Shechem,  and  that  Jacob 
had  to  flee  from  the  vengeance  of  the  Canaanites.  These  traditions 
cannot  be  reconciled  ;  but  E  may  have  combined  stories  whose 
inconsistency  was  disguised  by  their  form  as  individual  biography  ; 
or  some  one  else  may  have  added  a  paragraph  in  which,  after  the 
fashion  of  some  patriotic  historians,  a  disaster  became  a  triumph. 

xlix.  1-27.    The  Blessing  of  Jacob. 

(An  Ancient  Lyric.) 

xlix.  1,  2.  Introductory 

The  Sons  of  Leah. 

xlix.  3,  4.  Reuben  (I). 

xlix.  5-7.  Simeon  and  Levi  (II,  III). 

xlix.  8-12.  Judah  (IV). 

xlix.  13.  Zebulun  (V\ 

xlix.  14,  15.  Issachar  (VI). 

A  Son  ofBilhah. 

xlix.  16-18.  Dan  (VII). 

The  Sons  of  Zilpah. 

xlix.  19.  Gad  (VIII). 

xlix.  20.  Asher  (IX). 


394  GENESIS  49.  2-4.     J 

yourselves  together,  that  I  may  tell  you  that  which  shall 
befall  you  in  the  latter  days. 

Assemble  yourselves,  and  hear,  ye  sons  of  Jacob ; 
And  hearken  unto  Israel  your  father. 

Reuben,  thou  art  my  firstborn,  my  might,  and  the 
beginning  of  my  strength  ; 
The  excellency  of  dignity,  and  the  excellency  of 

power. 
Unstable    as    water,    thou    shalt    not    have    the 
excellency ; 

A  Son  of  Bilhah. 
xlix.  91.  Naphtali  (X). 

The  Sons  of  Rachel. 
xlix.  23-36.  Joseph  (XI). 
xlix.  27.  Benjamin  (XII). 

Sources,  &c.  We  have  placed  J  in  the  margin  against  this 
poem,  because  it  is  fairly  probable  that  the  compiler  of  the 
Primitive  Document  included  it  in  his  work ;  but  it  is  not  im- 
possible that  it  was  not  a  part  of  either  the  Primitive  or  the 
Elohistic  Document,  but  was  inserted  in  the  Twofold  Document 
by  the  editor  who  combined  J  and  E.  Before  the  '  Blessing'  was 
incorporated  in  one  of  these  works,  it  may  have  existed  as  an 
entirely  separate  document,  or  may  have  been  included  in  a  collec- 
tion of  poems.  Probably  the  '  Blessing '  as  we  have  it  is  a  revised 
edition  of  an  earlier  form. 

This  poem  again  has  nothing1  to  do  with  the  careers  of 
individuals,  but  deals  with  the  fortunes  of  the  tribes.  The  date  has 
been  fixed  as  early  as  the  time  of  David,  but  as  both  Judah  and 
Joseph  are  referred  to  as  royal  tribes,  the  'Blessing,'  in  its  present 
form  at  any  rate,  can  hardly  be  earlier  than  the  Division  of  the 
Monarchy. 

3.  Reuben,  .  .  .  my  firstborn.     See  on  xxix.  32. 
beginning- :  rather,  as  R.  V.  marg.,  '  firstfruits,'  synonymous 

with  '  firstborn.' 

The  excellency  of  dignity,  and  the  excellency  of  power : 
first  in  rank  and  authority,  as  firstborn. 

4.  See  on  xxxv.  22  ;  cf.  Judges  v.  16. 
Unstable:  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Bubbling  over.' 

1  Cf.,  however,  notes  on  verses  3-;. 


GENESIS  49.  5,  6.     J  395 

Because  thou  wentest  up  to  thy  father's  bed : 
Then  defiledst  thou  it :  he  went  up  to  my  couch. 

Simeon  and  Levi  are  brethren  ; 
Weapons  of  violence  are  their  swords. 

0  my  soul,  come  not  thou  into  their  council ; 
Unto  their  assembly,  my  glory,  be  not  thou  1;  lied; 
For  in  their  anger  they  slew  a  man, 

thou  shalt  not  have  (R.V.  marg.,  'have  not  the;  v  the 
excellency:  i.  e.  Reuben  should  not  actually  enjoy  the  pre-eml  :.ce 
due  to  him  as  firstborn.  As  the  reference  is  really  to  the  tiibe, 
we  might  interpret  thus  :  in  early  times  Reuben  was  the  premier 
tribe,  but  owing  to  some  unfriendly  or  treacherous  act  in  connexion 
with  the  Bilhah  tribe  (Dan-Naphtali),  Reuben  became  estranged 
from  the  rest  of  Israel,  and  through  its  isolation  suffered  reverses 
which  reduced  the  tribe  to  mere  refugees  in  Gad.  In  the  '  Song  of 
Deborah,'  Reuben  and  Dan  hold  back  from  the  general  levy  of 
Israel  against  Sisera,  in  which  Naphtali  takes  a  prominent  part 1. 
In  a  later  series  of  oracles  on  the  tribes,  'The  Blessing  of  Moses,' 
probably  compiled  towards  the  close  of  the  Northern  Kingdom, 
Reuben  is  at  its  last  gasp  : — 

'  Let  Reuben  live,  and  not  die ; 
Yet  let  his  men  be  few  V 

he  went  up  to  my  couch.  We  should  probably  read,  on  the 
authority  of  the  LXX,  '  thou  wentest  up.'  Some  think  that  this 
verse  refers  in  some  way  to  the  lax  sexual  morality  of  the 
Reubenites. 

5,  6.  Simeon  and  Levi.     See  on  xxix.  33,  34,  and  xxxiv. 

brethren :  '  sons  '  of  Leah,  sections  of  Leah,  but  so  much  was 
true  of  Reuben,  Judah,  &c,  so  that  'brethren'  here  must  be 
used  in  a  special  sense,  '  close  allies '  or  '  alike  in  character  and 
conduct.' 

5.  swords :   R.  V.  marg.,  '  compacts ' ;  the  Hebrew  word  3  only 
occurs  here,  and  its  meaning  is  quite  uncertain. 

6.  O  my  sonl,  come  not  thou  :  an  emphatic  way  of  saying,  *  let 
me  not  come.' 

council:  R.V.  marg.,  'secret' 

my  glory,  he  not  thou:  an  emphatic  way  of  saying,  'let  me 
not  be.' 

they  slew  a  man :  better,  as  R.V.  marg.,  '  men,'  i.  e.  in  the 
massacre  at  Shechem,  xxxiv.  26  (which  see). 

1  Judges  v.  16-18.  2  Deut.  xxxiii.  6. 

3  Mekherothehem. 


396  GENESIS  49.  7-9.     J 

And  in  their  selfwill  they  houghed  an  ox. 
Cursed  be  their  anger,  for  it  was  fierce ; 
And  their  wrath,  for  it  was  cruel : 
I  will  divide  them  in  Jacob, 
And  scatter  them  in  Israel. 

Judah,  thee  shall  thy  brethren  praise : 
Thy  hand  shall  be  on  the  neck  of  thine  enemies ; 
Thy  father's  sons  shall  bow  down  before  thee, 
Judah  is  a  lion's  whelp ; 
From  the  prey,  my  son,  thou  art  gone  up : 
He  stooped  down,  he  couched  as  a  lion, 
And  as  a  lioness ;  who  shall  rouse  him  up? 


they  houghed  an  ox  :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  oxen.'  An  incident  in 
the  sack  of  Shechem.  Joshua  vi.  21  tells  us  that  the  Israelites 
killed  all  the  animals  in  Jericho  ;  and  Joshua  xi.  6,  9  tells  us 
that  Joshua  houghed  the  horses  taken  from  Jabin,  king  of 
Hazor. 

7.  Cursed  be  their  anger  :  a  formal  disavowal  of  the  conduct 
of  the  two  tribes  ;  cf.  xxxiv.  30,  '  Jacob  said  to  Simeon  and  Levi, 
Ye  have  troubled  me,  to  make  me  to  stink  among  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land.' 

I  will  divide  them.  In  historical  times  the  Simeonites  are 
refugees  in  Judah,  as  the  Reubenites  in  Gad  ;  and  the  Levites  are 
scattered  throughout  Israel.  Probably  the  sack  of  Shechem  was 
so  terribly  avenged  by  the  Canaanites  that  Simeon  and  Levi  could 
no  longer  hold  their  own  as  separate  tribes.  Their  guilt  seems  to 
have  consisted  in  the  violation  of  a  covenant  between  Israel  and 
Shechem  ;  cf.  on  xxxiv.  Note  that  there  is  no  suggestion  here  that 
Levi  has  any  priestly  character. 
8-12.  Judah.     Cf.  xxix.  35. 

8.  shall .  .  .  praise  :  Heb.  yodu,  a  popular  etymology  of  Judah. 
Thy  hand  shall  he  on  the  neck  of  thine  enemies  :  probably 

a  reference  to  the  conquests  of  David. 

Thy  father's  sons  shall  bow  down  before  thee.  This  line 
seems  to  indicate  that  the  section  on  Judah  originated  under  the 
Judahite  kings  of  united  Israel,  David  and  Solomon.  The  section 
on  Joseph    which  see)  may  have  originated  in  another  period. 

9.  a  lion's  whelp,  &c,  figures  for  the  warlike  power  of  Judah. 
art  gone  up  :  in  safety  to  his  den,  where  no  one  dares  disturb 

him. 


GENESIS  49.  to,  ti.     J  397 

The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  10 

Nor  the  ruler's  staff  from  between  his  feet, 

Until  Shiloh  come ; 

And  unto  him  shall  the  obedience  of  the  peoples  be. 

Binding  his  foal  unto  the  vine,  ix 

And  his  ass's  colt  unto  the  choice  vine ; 

10.  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah.  '  The  obedience 
of  the  peoples '  in  the  last  clause  shows  that  this  verse  contem- 
plates the  world-wide  rule  of  a  Jewish  king,  i.  e.  it  is  Messianic. 

the  ruler's  staff .  .  .  between  his  feet.  Assyrian  and  other 
kings  are  depicted  sitting  with  a  staff  of  office,  one  end  of  which 
is  between  their  feet. 

Until  Shiloh  come.  The  Hebrew  represented  by  these 
words  is  unintelligible.  If  we  take  R.V.  text,  'Until  Shiloh 
come,  and  unto  him,'  &c,  Shiloh  must  be  a  person,  and  in  this 
sense  it  has  been  understood  as  a  title  of  the  Messiah1,  perhaps 
'  his  son 2,'  or  '  his  own  one 3 ' ;  or  as  a  name  equivalent  to 
Solomon.  Can  Shiloh  be  a  corruption  of  Shelah  ?  Cf.  xxxviii. 
The  actual  rendering  of  the  LXX  is,  '  Until  that  which  is  his 
shall  come,'  &c,  which  is  as  unintelligible  as  the  Hebrew,  but 
is  sometimes  understood  as  a  veiled  reference  to  the  Messiah. 
The  Syriac  is  more  explicit,  '  Until  he  cometh  to  whom  it  belongs,' 
which  also  might  be  a  veiled  reference.  The  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Till 
he  come  to  Shiloh,  having  the  obedience,'  is  also  unintelligible. 
It  would  imply  that  Shiloh  was  a  place,  and  that  the  coming 
to  Shiloh  was  a  crisis  which  terminated  the  supremacy  of  Judah 
and  the  existence  of  its  dynasty.  By  torturing  the  language 
we  might  connect  this  with  the  final  establishment  of  Judah  in 
its  territory  at  the  time  when  the  ark  was  settled  at  Shiloh. 
But  none  of  these  interpretations  are  probable. 

This  verse  is  often  regarded  as  a  later  addition  ;  it  interrupts 
the  natural  connexion  between  verses  9  and  11.  Moreover,  verses 
11,  12  do  not  suit  a  Messianic  king. 

xlix.  11,  ia.  These  verses  describe  the  wealth  of  the  territory 
of  Judah  in  fertile  vineyards  and  well-stocked,  well-watered 
pastures. 

11.  Binding-  his  foal  unto  the  vine:  because  the  vines  were 
so  abundant. 

1  Targum  of  Onkelos,  second  century  Aramaic  translation. 
3  So  some  Rabbinical  commentators  of  the  Middle  Ages,  Kimchi,  &c. 
(Encycl.  Biblica,  'Shiloh,'  to  which  this  note  is  largely  indebted). 
3  Reading  '  shell o,'  which  seems  indicated  by  the  LXX. 


398  GENESIS  49.  12-14.     J 

He  hath  washed  his  garments  in  wine, 
And  his  vesture  in  the  blood  of  grapes : 

12  His  eyes  shall  be  red  with  wine, 
And  his  teeth  white  with  milk. 

13  Zebulun  shall  dwell  at  the  haven  of  the  sea 
And  he  shall  be  for  an  haven  of  ships ; 

And  his  border  shall  be  upon  Zidon. 

14  Issachar  is  a  strong  ass, 


12.  his  teeth  white  with  milk:  probably  by  a  very  natural, 
but  false,  analogy,  the  abundant  white  milk  is  thought  of  as 
making  the  teeth  white  ;  cf.  the  line,  '  Who  drives  fat  oxen  should 
himself  be  fat.' 

13.  Zebulun.  This  verse  describes  the  position  of  the  territory 
of  the  tribe  as  on  the  sea-coast ;  but  according  to  Joshua  xix. 
10-16  Asher  lay  along  the  Mediterranean,  and  Naphtali  along 
the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  the  territory  of  Zebulun  did  not  touch  the 
sea.  In  Judges  v.  17  Asher  is  at  the  haven  of  the  sea ;  but  in  1 
Dent,  xxxiii.  18,  19  Zebulun  and  Issachar  are  coupled  together, 
and  it  is  said  of  them  :— 

1  For  they  shall  suck  the  abundance  of  the  seas, 
And  the  hidden  treasures  of  the  sand.' 
Apparently  at  one  time  Zebulun  had  territory  on  the  coast,  or 
bordering   on    the   land   of  the   maritime    Phoenicians ;    but  we 
cannot  be  certain  when.     Cf.  xxix.  20. 

haven  .  .  .  haven:   R.  V.  marg.,  'beach  .  .  .  beach.' 
upon  Zidon:  R. V.  marg.,  'by  Zidon.' 

14.  Issachar.     Cf.  xxx.  18  ;  //'/.  \  ass  of  bone.' 

a  strong1  ass.  The  Israelites  did  not  thin'<  of  the  ass  as  a 
foolish  and  absurd  animal '  ;  on  the  contrary,  nobles  rode  on 
asses  on  state  occasions ;  in  Zech.  ix.  9  the  Messiah  comes 
'riding  upon  an  ass.'  The  'strong  ass,'  the  patient,  unwarlike 
beast  of  burden,  is  a  figure  for  a  tribe  which  preferred  peace, 
and  comfort,  and  plenty  to  independence  at  the  cost  of  the  risk 
and  loss  of  war.  In  Judges  v.  15,  however,  Issachar  is  a  patriotic 
warrior  tribe ;  again  the  two  poems  refer  to  different  periods, 
and  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  '  Blessing  of  Jacob '  is  the  later. 
The  prosperity  of  Issachar  is  also  insisted  on  in  Deut.  xxxiii.  19. 
Instead  of  strong  ass'  a  very  slight  alteration  would  give  'ass  of 
foreigners,'  an  allusion  to  the  tributary  state  of  Issachar. 

1  Even  in  Prov.  xxvi.  3  the  ass  is  coupled  with  the  horse  as  well  as 
with  the  fool. 


GENESIS  49.  15-17.     J  399 

Couching  down  between  the  sheepfolds : 

And  he  saw  a  resting  place  that  it  was  good,  15 

And  the  land  that  it  was  pleasant ; 

And  he  bowed  his  shoulder  to  bear, 

And  became  a  servant  under  taskwork. 

Dan  shall  judge  his  people,  16 

As  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel. 

Dan  shall  be  a  serpent  in  the  way,  17 

An  adder  in  the  path, 
That  biteth  the  horse's  heels, 

sheepfolds.  The  Hebrew  word *  only  occurs  here,  and 
in  the  '  Song  of  Deborah  2,'  which,  according  to  the  R.  V.,  says  of 
Reuben,  '  Why  satest  thou  among  the  sheepfolds  ? '  The  meaning 
of  the  word  is  uncertain,  and  the  rendering  l  dung-heaps  '  has  also 
been  proposed 3. 

15.  a  resting1  place :  R.  V.  marg.,  'rest.' 

pleasant:  the  fertile  plain  of  Esdraelon  lay  partly  in  the 
territory  of  Issachar. 

a  servant  under  taskwork.  In  1  Kings  v.  13  Solomon 
raises  'a  levy'  of  Israelites  to  work  on  the  building  of  the  temple. 
1  Levy  '  in  Kings  and  •  taskwork  '  here  translate  the  same  Hebrew 
word4.  'Servant  under  taskwork'  denotes  subjection  to  the 
Canaanites  or  Phoenicians  involving  the  corvee  or  tribute  of  unpaid 
labour,  or  some  other  form  of  tribute.  In  Judges  i.  28,  35,  which 
is  one  of  the  older  portions  of  the  Primitive  Document,  certain 
Israelite  tribes  put  the  Canaanites  and  Amorites  to  taskwork, 
or  render  them  tributary. 

16.  Dan.     Cf.  xxx.  6. 

judge :  suggested  by  the  fact  that  Dan  as  a  Hebrew  common 
noun  would  mean  'judge.' 

As  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.  Dan  had  great  difficulty  in 
obtaining  a  settlement  and  maintaining  itself  as  a  separate  tribe. 
Hence  it  is  thought  of  as  fortunate  in  being  a  tribe  at  all.  From 
the  position  of  these  verses  in  the  list  it  seems  that  the  Northern 
Dan  is  meant. 

1*7.  adder:  A.  V.   marg.,  '  arrowsnake,'   R.  V.  marg.,  'horned 
snake,'  i.  e.  the  cerastes. 

biteth  the.  horse's  heels:  a  figure  for  the  stratagems  of 
guerilla  warfare ;  the  tribe  was  too  weak  for  open  attack. 

'  Mishpethayim.  2  Judges  v.  16. 

3  Moore,  Judges.  *  Mas. 


4oc  GENESIS  49.  18-22.     J 

So  that  his  rider  falleth  backward. 
18  I  have  waited  for  thy  salvation,  O  Lord. 

/9  Gad,  a  troop  shall  press  upon  him : 

But  he  shall  press  upon  their  heel, 
ao  Out  of  Asher  his  bread  shall  be  fat, 

And  he  shall  yield  royal  dainties. 

21  Naphtali  is  a  hind  let  loose : 
He  giveth  goodly  words. 

22  Joseph  is  a  fruitful  bough, 

18.  I  have  waited  for  thy  salvation.  Perhaps  anotherreference 
to  the  precarious  position  of  the  tribe  ;  or  perhaps  a  pious  ejaculation 
written  by  some  reader  on  the  margin  of  his  manuscript,  and 
afterwards  copied  into  the  text 

19.  Gad.     Cf.  xxx.  11.  I 
a  troop  shall  press  .  .  .  But  he  shall  press :  an  elaborate 

play  upon  the  name  '  Gad  '  ;  the  Hebrew  is  {gad)  gedud yegudenmt, 
•  >yagud.  The  '  troop  '  is  a  raiding  band  ;  we  might  render,  '  The 
raiders  shall  raid  him  .  .  .  but  he  shall  raid.'  Gad  was  neighbour 
to  the  Bedouin  of  the  desert,  and  suffered  at  their  hands,  and  re- 
taliated. 

20.  Asher.  Cf.  xxx.  13.  The  position  of  Asher  after  Gad 
seems  a  reminiscence  of  the  old  connexion  between  the  two  as 
1  sons '  of  Zilpah  ;  they  were  not  neighbours  in  later  times. 

Out  of  Asher :  an  awkward  expression  ;  it  is  better  to  read  ! 
simply  '  Asher,'  with  the  LXX,  &c. 

his  bread  shall  be  fat:  a  reference  to  the  fertility  of  the  ter- 
ritory.    Deut.  xxxiii.  24  speaks  of  Asher  dipping  his  foot  in  oil. 

21.  JTaphtali:  the  neighbour  of  Asher  ;  cf.  xxx.  8. 

a  hind  let  loose: 
He  giveth  goodly  words. 

The  '  hind  let  loose '  would  be  a  figure  for  the  freedom  and  1 
energy  of  the  tribe.     It  is,  of  course,  the  tribe  and  not  the  'hind' 
that  '  giveth  goodly  words. '     The  latter  might  refer  to  eloquence 
But  this  R.  V.  rendering  is  probably  wrong ;  a  slight  alteration  of 
the  reading  would  give  a  version  suggested  by  the  LXX,  '  a  slender 
terebinth,  putting  forth  goodly  shoots,'  another  figure  for  pros-! 
perity,  or  perhaps  a  reference  to  the  long,  narrow  shape  of  the 
territory  of  the  tribe. 

22-28.  Joseph.  The  length  of  this  blessing,  and  its  terms, 
point  to  a  special  interest  in  Joseph,  and  probably  to  the  origin  of! 
this  section  of  the  poem  in  the  Northern  Kingdom  after  the* 
Division  of  the  Monarchy.     If  so,  it  is  later  than  the  section  on 


GENESIS  49.  23,  24.     J  401 

A  fruitful  bough  by  a  fountain ; 

His  branches  run  over  the  wall. 

The  archers  have  sorely  grieved  him,  23 

And  shot  at  him,  and  persecuted  him  : 

But  his  bow  abode  in  strength,  24 

And  the  arms  of  his  hands  were  made  strong, 

By  the  hands  of  the  Mighty  One  of  Jacob, 

(From  thence  is  the  shepherd,  the  stone  of  Israel,) 

Judah  *.  It  may  be  based  on  some  earlier  couplets  on  the  tribe. 
This  blessing  of  Joseph  has  much  in  common  with  the  corre- 
sponding: section  of  the  blessing  of  Moses2.  In  the  'Song  of 
Deborah'  we  read  of  Ephraim  and  Machir  instead  of  Joseph. 

22.  a  fruitful  bough  (Heb.  \  the  son  of  a  fruitful  tree ')  .  . .  Ms 
branches  (Heb.  ■  daughters  '),  &c.  These  are  familiar  figures  for 
prosperity,  fertility,  and  a  large,  increasing  population.  The 
Hebrew  word  represented  by  i  fruitful  (tree  .'  porath,  may  havebeen 
suggested  by  Ephraim,  the  principal  division  of  Joseph,  or  by 
Ephrathite,  the  adjective  formed  from  Ephraim.  It  is  doubtful, 
however,  whether  we  have  the  verse  in  its  original  form. 

23.  24.  These  verses  describe  the  success  of  Joseph  in  defend- 
ing itself  against  an  aggressive  enemy.  Possibly  Joseph  here  is 
the  Northern  Kingdom,  and  the  enemy  the  Syrians  of  Damascus, 
with  whom  the  kings  of  Israel  waged  almost  constant  wars  from 
about  B.C.  900.  Or  Joseph  may  be  the  separate  tribe,  and  the 
reference  may  be  to  the  period  of  the  Judges,  and  to  events  which 

I  can  no  longer  be  identified. 

24.  strong- :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  active.' 

the  Mighty  One  of  Jacob :  a  Divine  title,  Isaiah  i.  34,  &c.  ; 
sometimes  translated  as  ■  the  Bull  of  Jacob,'  and  connected  with 
the  calf  at  Beth-el,  the  great  sanctuary  cf  the  Northern  Kingdom  ; 
but  the  Hebrew  word3  need  not  mean  '  bull.' 

Prom  thence  is  the  shepherd,  (R.  V.  marg.,  From  thence, 
from  the  shepherd,'  or,  as  otherwise  read,  '  By  the  name  of  the 
shepherd ')  the  stone  of  Israel.  None  of  these  renderings  make 
sense;  R.V.  text  would  seem  to  mean  that  the  'shepherd,'  i.e. 
the  ruler,  of  Israel  came  from  Joseph  ;  but  this  does  not  give  the 
parallelism  with  the  previous  verse  required  by  the  structure  of 
the  poem.  The  renderings  in  R.  V.  marg.  are  more  satisfactory 
in  this  respect,  they  also  might  be  understood  to  express  the 
idea  that  deliverance  came  from  God ;  but  the  parallelism  is  not 

1  See  on  verses  8-12.  2  See  notes  on  verses  25,  26. 

8  'Abkir. 


402  GENESIS  49.  25, 26.     J 

25  Even  by  the  God  of  thy  father,  who  shall  help  thee, 
And  by  the  Almighty,  who  shall  bless  thee, 

With  blessings  of  heaven  above, 

Blessings  of  the  deep  that  coucheth  beneath, 

Blessings  of  the  breasts,  and  of  the  womb. 

26  The  blessings  of  thy  father 

Have  prevailed  above  the  blessings  of  my  progenitors 
Unto  the  utmost  bound  of  the  everlasting  hills  : 


sufficiently  close,  and  the  construction  is  awkward.  The  render- 
ing f  from  the  name  '  is  found  in  two x  ancient  versions,  and  is 
obtained  by  a  slight  change  in  the  vowels.  Others  propose  to 
translate,  'By  the  name  of  the  shepherd  of  the  stone  of  Israel,' 
i.  e.  of  the  stone  set  up  by  Israel  (Jacob;  at  Beth-el 2.  The  phrase 
would  thus  mean,  '  By  the  name  of  the  God  of  Beth-el  V  '  Shep- 
herd '  is  a  Divine  title  in  Ps.  xxiii.  1,  '  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd  '  ; 
lxxx.  1,  'The  Shepherd  of  Israel,'  &c.  The  title  'stone4  of 
Israel '  for  God  only  occurs  here,  but  is  parallel  to  '  rock  V  It  is 
doubtful  what  was  the  original  form  of  this  line  ;  but,  like  the 
preceding,  it  must  have  expressed  the  idea  that  the  deliverance  of 
Joseph  came  from  God. 

25.  the  God  of  thy  father :  Jacob  (Israel),  a  favourite  Divinetitle : 
cf.  Exod.  iii.  15,  '  Yahweh,  the  God  of  your  fathers,  the  God  of 
Abraham, the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob  '  ;  Gen.xxvi.24,  &c. 

the  Almighty  :  Shaddai.     See  on  xvii.  1. 

blessing's  of  heaven  above :  in  Deut.  xxxiii.  13,  '  precious 
things  of  heaven.' 

the  deep  that  coucheth  beneath :  so  also  Deut.  xxxiii.  13. 
'  The  deep  '  is  the  tehom  of  i.  2,  that  corresponds  to  Tiamat  the 
dragon  of  the  abyss  ;  and  the  language  is  a  reminiscence  of  this 
personification. 

26.  The  blessing's  of  thy  father 

Have  prevailed  above  the  blessing's  of  my  progenitors 
Unto  the  utmost  bound  of  the  everlasting  hills. 
This  rendering  is  nonsense,  and  is  not  even  a  literal  translation 
of  the  Hebrew  text  as  it  stands.  A  very  slight  alteration  enables, 
us  to  read  with  the  LXX  'mountains  of  eternity,'  instead  of  '  myj 
progenitors,  unto,'  so  that  with  another  slight  change  we  getj 
R.  V.  marg  : — 

' .  .  .  above  the  blessings  of  the  ancient  mountains, 
the  desire  (or,  desirable  things)  of  the  everlasting  hills.' 


1  Syriac  and  Targum  of  Onkelos.  2  xxviii.  18-22,  xxxv.  14. 

3  So  Dillmann.  *  'Ebheh.  5  Cur,  Ps.  xviii.  31,  &c. 


GENESIS  49.  27-29.     JP  403 

They  shall  be  on  the  head  of  Joseph, 
And  on  the  crown  of  the  head  of  him  that  was 
separate  from  his  brethren. 
Benjamin  is  a  wolf  that  ravineth  :  37 

In  the  morning  he  shall  devour  the  prey, 
And  at  even  he  shall  divide  the  spoil. 

[P]  All  these  are  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel :  and  this  is  a8 
it  that  their  father  spake  unto  them  and  blessed  them : 
every  one  according  to  his  blessing  he  blessed  them. 
And  he  charged  them,  and  said  unto  them,  I  am  to  be  29 

Cf.  Deut.  xxxiii.  15  : — 

'  And  for  the  chief  things  of  the  ancient  mountains, 

And  for  the  precious  things  of  the  everlasting  hills.' 

that  was  separate  front  his  brethren.     The  words  from 

4  on  the  head  of  Joseph'  to  the  end  of  the  verse  are  also  found  in 

Deut.  xxxiii.   16.     The  R.  V.  text,    '  separate  from  his  brethren,' 

suggests  the  experience  of  Joseph  in  Egypt ;   but  the  words  do 

not    do   justice   to   the   original.      The    Hebrew   word    rendered 

'  separate  '  is  nazir,  which  usually  means  '  Nazirite,'  so  the  word 

1  here  is  interpreted  ■  consecrated,  devoted,'  as  chief  or  champion ; 

so  R.  V.   marg.,   '  prince  among  his  brethren.'      As  the  cognate 

-noun   nezer  means  'crown,'  nazir  has  even   been  understood  as 

!  'crowned.'  which  would  at  once  give  the  sense  of  'prince,'  or 

'king.       In  Lam.  iv.  7,   R.  V.  text  translates  nazir  < noble,'  but 

gives  i  Nazirite '  in  the  margin.     The  reference  here  may  be  to 

the  Northern  Kingdom,  or  to  Joseph's  leadership  of  the  northern 

tribes  in  the  period  of  the  judges. 

27.  Benjamin.     Cf.  xxxv.  18. 

wolf,  &c.  :  referring  to  the  warlike  character  of  the  tribe. 

xlix.  28 — 1.  14.     Death  and  Burial  of  Jacob  (J,  E,  and  P). 

xlix.  28-33%  cl  (P)«   Jacob  dies,  after  charging  his  sons  to  bury 
him  at  Machpelah. 

xlix.  33 bl,  1.  1-11,  14  (J).     Jacob  dies.     Joseph  mourns  him; 
has  him  embalmed  ;  and  buries  him  in  Eastern  Palestine. 
1.  12,  13  (P).     Jacob's  sons  bury  him  at  Machpelah. 

28.  A  note  on  the  previous  poem  by  an  editor. 

29.  30.  Cf.  xlvii.  29-31,  xxiii.  19. 

1  33b  ==  '  he  gathered  up  .  .  .  bed.' 


404  GENESIS  49.  30— 50.  3.     PJPJ 

gathered  unto  my  people :  bury  me  with  my  fathers  in 

30  the  cave  that  is  in  the  field  of  Ephron  the  Hittite,  in  the 
cave  that  is  in  the  field  of  Machpelah,  which  is  before 
Mamre,  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  which  Abraham  bought 
with  the  field  from  Ephron  the  Hittite  for  a  possession  of 

31  a  buryingplace :  there  they  buried  Abraham  and  Sarah 
his  wife ;  there  they  buried  Isaac  and  Rebekah  his  wife ; 

32  and  there  I  buried  Leah :  the  field  and  the  cave  that  is 
therein,  which  was  purchased  from  the  children  of  Heth. 

33  And  when  Jacob  made  an  end  of  charging  his  sons, 
[J]  he  gathered  up  his  feet  into  the  bed,  [P]  and 
yielded  up  the  ghost,  and  was  gathered  unto  his  people. 

50  [J]   And  Joseph  fell  upon  his  father's  face,  and  wept 

2  upon  him,  and  kissed  him.  And  Joseph  commanded  his 
servants  the  physicians  to  embalm  his  father:  and  the 

3  physicians  embalmed  Israel.  And  forty  days  were 
fulfilled  for  him ;  for  so  are  fulfilled  the  days  of  embalm- 
ing :  and  the  Egyptians  wept  for  him  threescore  and  ten 
days. 

31.  It  is  not  stated  elsewhere  that  Isaac,  Rebekah,  and  Leah 
were  buried  at  Machpelah. 

32.  The  construction  is  awkward,  probably  some  mistake  has 
been  made  in  copying  the  text ;  we  might  perhaps  read,  '  the  field, 
&c,  were  purchased l ' ;  or  else  regard  the  verse  as  an  editorial 
addition. 

33  b  (J),  gathered  up  his  feet :  i.  e.  '  lay  down  ';  he  had  been 
sitting  up. 

33  c  (P).  and  yielded  up  the  ghost.  The  Hebrew  is  a  single 
word,  simply  'expired.' 

1.  2.  the  physicians  embalmed  Israel :  i.  e.  made  the  corpse 
into  a  mummy.  The  embalmers  were  a  professional  class  ;  there 
were  also  professional  doctors,  often  priests.  We  read  of  doctors 
attached  to  the  royal  household,  so  that  Joseph  would  have  his 
'  physicians.'  It  is  doubtful  whether  it  was  according  to  Egyptian 
usage  for  household  physicians  to  embalm. 

3.  forty  days  .  .  .  embalming.     Similar  statements  are  made 

~~~         ■  Ball. 


GENESIS  50.  4-10.     J  405 

And  when  the  days  of  weeping  for  him  were  past,   4 
Joseph  spake  unto  the  house  of  Pharaoh,  saying,  If  now 
I  have  found  grace  in  your  eyes,  speak,  I  pray  you,  in 
the  ears  of  Pharaoh,  saying,  My  father  made  me  swear,    5 
saying,  Lo,  I  die :  in  my  grave  which  I  have  digged  for 
me  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  there  shalt  thou  bury  me. 
Now  therefore  let  me  go  up,  I  pray  thee,  and  bury  my 
father,  and  I  will  come  again.     And  Pharaoh  said,  Go   6 
up,  and  bury  thy  father,  according  as  he  made  thee  swear. 
And  Joseph  went  up  to  bury  his  father :  and  with  him    7 
went  up  all  the  servants  of  Pharaoh,  the  elders  of  his 
house,  and  all  the  elders  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  all   8 
the  house  of  Joseph,  and  his  brethren,  and  his  father's 
house :  only  their  little  ones,  and  their  flocks,  and  their 
herds,  they  left  in  the  land  of  Goshen.     And  there  went   9 
up  with  him  both  chariots  and  horsemen  :  and  it  was  a 
very  great  company.     And  they  came  to  the  threshing-  10 
floor  of  Atad,  which  is  beyond  Jordan,  and  there  they 

by  Greek  writers.  Maspero  speaks  of  remains  of  a  dead  man 
plunged  '  into  the  bath  of  liquid  natron,  in  which  they  must  soak 
for  seventy  days1 ' ;  but  gives  no  authority. 

threescore  and  ten  days,  including  the  period  of  embalming. 
j  In  Israel  the  period   was  sometimes  thirty  days2;   but  the  em- 
balming and  other  funeral  ceremonies  of  the  Egyptians  required 
a  longer  period. 

5.  have  digged:  R.  V.  marg.,  less  probably,  'bought.' 
!       7-9.  The  Egyptian  tombs  depict  magnificent  funeral  processions 
'  of  kings  and  great  officials. 

IO.  the  threshing-floor  of  Atad:  or  '  Goren-atad,'the  i  thresh- 
ing-floor of  the  Thornbush ' ;    the  site  is  unknown,  and  the  name 
i  found  nowhere  else. 

beyond  Jordan:  east  of  Jordan.  It  is  not  clear  that  Goren- 
atad  is  the  place  of  burial.  It  has  been  suggested  that  Joseph 
halted  to  make  lamentation,  i.  e.  have  a  second  funeral  service,  as 
soon  as  he  reached  the  borders  of  the  Promised  Land;  but  it  is  more 
natural  to  think  that  the  final  ceremony  was  performed  in  the 

1  Ancient  Egypt,  &c,  p.  126. 

2  Num.  xx.  29,  Aaron;  Deut.  xxxiv.  8,  Moses. 

DD2 


406  GENESIS  50.  n-i4.     J  P  J 

lamented  with  a  very  great  and  sore  lamentation  :  and  lie 

1 1  made  a  mourning  for  his  father  seven  days.  And  when 
the  inhabitants  of  the  land,  the  Canaanites,  saw  the 
mourning  in  the  floor  of  Atad,  they  said,  This  is  a  griev- 
ous mourning  to  the  Egyptians :  wherefore  the  name  of 
it  was  called  Abel-mizraim,  which  is  beyond  Jordan.    [P] 

12  And  his  sons  did  unto  him  according  as  he  commanded 

13  them  :  for  his  sons  carried  him  into  the  land  of  Canaan, 
and  buried  him  in  the  cave  of  the  field  of  Machpelah, 
which  Abraham  bought  with  the  field,  for  a  possession  of 
a  buryingplace,  of  Ephron  the  Hittite,  before  Mamre. 

[4  [J]  And  Joseph  returned  into  Egypt,  he,  and  his 
brethren,  and  all  that  went  up  with  him  to  bury  his 

neighbourhood  of  the  tomb.  If  so,  this  verse,  J,  preserves 
a  different  tradition  from  that  given  in  verse  13,  P.  It  is  doubtful, 
however,  whether  J  regarded  Eastern  Palestine  as  Canaan. 
Possibly  'beyond  Jordan'  in  verses  10  and  11  is  an  addition  by 
an  editor,  who  sought  to  avoid  all  appearance  of  inconsistency 
with  verse  13,  by  suggesting  that  this  was  a  place  of  'mourning' 
quite  distinct  from  the  tomb.  There  is  no  other  trace  of  any  tra- 
dition that  Jacob  was  buried  east  of  the  Jordan. 

seven  days  :  the  ordinary  period  of  lamentation  in  Israel l. 

11.  mourning1:  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Heb.  ebeV 

Abel-mizraim  -    '  the  meadow  of  Egypt,'  or  more  probably, 
'  of  the  Egyptians.' 

13  (P).  Cf.  xlix.  29-31  (P). 

I.  15-26.    The  Last  Days  of  Joseph  (E). 

1.  15-21.  Joseph  promises  to  continue  his  kindness  to  his 
brethren. 

1.  22-26.  Joseph  adopts  Machir,  the  son  of  Manasseh.  Joseph 
dies  at  the  age  of  no  (?P),  and  is  embalmed,  having  made  the 
Israelites  promise  to  take  his  remains  with  them  to  Canaan. 

Sources,  &c.  According  to  some  critics,  there  are  fragments  of 
J  embedded  in  this  section  ;  and  the  statements  as  to  Joseph's  age 
are  from  P. 

1  1  Sam.  xxxi.  13  (Saul  and  Jonathan). 


GENESIS  50.  15-23.     J  E  407 

i 

father,  after  he  had  buried  his  father.     [E]  And  when  15 
Joseph's  brethren  saw  that  their  father  was  dead,   they 
said,  It  may  be  that  Joseph  will  hate  us,  and  will  fully 
trequite  us  all  the  evil  which  we  did  unto  him.     And  16 
i  they  sent  a  message  unto  Joseph,  saying,  Thy  father  did 
command  before  he  died,  saying,  So  shall  ye  say  unto  1 7 
Joseph,  Forgive,  I  pray  thee  now,  the  transgression  of 
thy  brethren,  and  their  sin,  for  that  they  did  unto  thee 
evil :  and  now,  we  pray  thee,  forgive  the  transgression  of 
the  servants  of  the  God  of  thy  father.     And  Joseph  wept 
when  they  spake  unto  him.     And  his  brethren  also  went  18 
and  fell  down  before  his  face ;  and  they  said,  Behold,  we 
be  thy  servants.     And  Joseph  said  unto  them,  Fear  not :  19 
for  am  I  in  the  place  of  God  ?    And  as  for  you,  ye  meant  20 
evil  against  me ;  but  God  meant  it  for  good,  to  bring  to 
pass,  as  it  is  this  day,  to  save  much  people  alive.     Now  2 1 
therefore  fear  ye  not :  I  will  nourish  you,  and  your  little 
ones.     And  he  comforted  them,  and  spake  kindly  unto 
them.   3 

And  Joseph  dwelt  in  Egypt,  he,  and  his  father's  house :  32 
and    Joseph   lived   an   hundred    and   ten    years.     And  23 
Joseph  saw  Ephraim's  children  of  the  third  generation : 
the  children  also  of  Machir  the  son  of  Manasseh  were 

21.  kindly  :  R.  V.  marg.,  '  Heb.  to  their  heart.' 

22.  26.  an  hundred  and  ten  years.  Analogy  would  suggest 
that  this  statement  is  from  P,  but  the  Elohistic  Document,  which 
was  specially  interested  in  Joseph,  may  have  stated  his  age. 

23.  the  children  .  .  .  of  Machir  .  .  .  were  born  upon  Joseph's 
knees:  i.  e.  Joseph  adopted  them.  In  the  'Song  of  Deborah,' 
Judges  v.  14,  Machir  appears  as  a  tribe  instead  of  Manasseh.  What 
with  Jacob's  adoption  of  Joseph's  sons,  and  Joseph's  adoption  of 
his  own  great-grandchildren,  the  situation  is  a  little  complicated. 
Moreover,  the  accepted  Hebrew  text  means  strictly  '  Ephraim's 
descendants  as  far  as  great-great-grandchildren/  i.  e.  of  Joseph, 
but  the  Samaritan- Hebrew  text  and  most  Versions  have  '  of  the 
third  generation,'  as  R.  V.     Again,  the  Samaritan-Hebrew  text 


408  GENESIS  50.  24-26.     E 

24  born  upon  Joseph's  knees.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his 
brethren,  I  die :  but  God  will  surely  visit  you,  and  bring 
you  up  out  of  this  land  unto  the  land  which  he  sware  to 

25  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob.  And  Joseph  took  an 
oath  of  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  God  will  surely 
visit  you,  and  ye  shall  carry  up  my  bones  from  hence. 

26  So  Joseph  died,  being  an  hundred  and  ten  years  old : 

and  they  embalmed  him,  and  he  was  put  in  a  coffin  in 

Egypt. , 

has  'in  the  days  of,'  instead  of  'on  the  knees  of  ;   and  this  is 
accepted  by  many  scholars. 

25.  Cf.  Exod.  xiii.  19 ;  Joshua  xxiv.  32. 

26.  Cf.  verses  2,  3. 

APPENDIX. 

Theory  of  the  Mosaic  Authorship  of  the  Pentateuch. 

The  theory  that  Moses  wrote  the  whole,  or  even  almost  the 
xvhole,  of  the  Pentateuch  as  it  now  stands  in  the  extant  MSS.  of 
the  Hebrew  text  is  untenable,  because  there  is  no  evidence  worth  , 
considering  in  its  favour,  and  overwhelming  evidence  against  it. 
The   Bible    never   states   that    Moses   wrote   the   whole    of   the 
Pentateuch  ;  and  certainly  our  Lord  never  staked  His  authority  on 
any  such  statement l.     On  the  face  of  it,  a  book  which  describes  | 
the  death  of  Moses  was  not  intended  to  be  received  as  written  by 
Moses.     On  the  other  hand,   the  denial  that  Moses  wrote  the 
account  of  his  own  death  implies  no  disrespect  to  the  authority  of  [ 
our  Lord  ;  and  we  are  equally  at  liberty  to  assert  that  there  are 
other  portions  of  the  Pentateuch  which  were  not  written  by  Moses. 


1  See  the  present  writer's  articles  on  this  subject  in  the  Expositor, 
1902,  'The  New  Testament  and  Jewish  Literature.' 


INDEX 

[The  Numerals  refer  to  the  Pages."] 


\  A(  =  P),  37,  41  *  LXX  MS.). 

Abel,  115. 

Abimelech,  226 

Abraham,  3  ff.,  49,  209. 

Abram.  172. 

Accad,  163. 

Almight}7,  208. 

Amalekites,  191. 
I  Amarna  Tablets,  17,  71. 
!  A.mmon.  9,  225. 

Amorite,  165. 

Amraphel,  17  f.,  49.  187. 
;  Anachronisms,    Specimens    of, 
177  ff.,  182,  193,  267. 

Analysis,  45. 

—  Tables  of.  52  ff. 

Angels,  133,  309. 

Angel  of  Yahweh,  205. 

Anthropomorphism,  22,  100  ff. 

Ararat,  147. 

Arioch,  187. 

Assyria,  8,  162  ff. 

B(  =  E),32,  41    LXX  MS.  . 
/13abel,  Babylon,  8.  170. 
\  Babylonian  Sources,  16. 
5 1—  Account  of  the  Creation,  67. 

j Flood,  135. 

j  Baethgen,  122  f. 

]  peer-sheba,  20,  233. 

i  perosus,  67. 

1  6eth-el,  4,  20,  177,  281. 

!  Blessing  of  Noah,  20,  156 f. 

j  j Isaac,  20,  276  ff 

Jacob,  20,  393  ff. 

j  [Mood,  153. 
;  31ood-revenge,  119. 
j  3ook  of  Jashar,  21. 
I Origins,  37. 


Book  of  the  Four  Covenants,  37. 
Wars  of  Yahweh,  21. 

C(=J),  24. 

Cain,  114. 

'  Came  to  pass  that,'  115. 

Canaan,  156. 

Chapters.  44. 

Chedorlaomer.  188. 

Cherubim,  113. 

Children,  Sacrifice  of.  31,  237. 

Christ,  Preparation  for,  7,24,35. 

Chronology,  35  f.,    126  f.,    136, 

144. 
Circumcision,  210. 
Clean  and  Unclean  Foods,  142. 
Composition  of  Genesis,  9. 
Concubines,  232,  243. 
Contents  of  Documents,  55. 
Cosmology,  Semitic,  49,  66  ff. 

—  Illustration  of,  66. 
Coupled    Synonyms,    84,    118, 

235. 
Covenants,  141,  201,  210. 
Creation,  4  f.,  10  f.,  18,  35,  67. 
Cubit,  139  f. 
Cush,  161  f. 

D,  10,  13. 

Damascius,  68. 
Davidson,  195. 
Davis,  63. 
Delitzsch.  Fried.,  19. 

—  Franz,  63. 
Deuteronomy,  10,  13. 
Dillmann,  63. 

Divine  Names,  22,  31,  36,  45, 

90  ff,  197,  208. 
Divination,  371. 


4io 


GENESIS 


Doughty,  319. 
Dreams,  31. 
Driver,  88. 

E    (Elohistic    Document),    10, 

13.  30,  52- 

Early  Rising,  222. 
Eden,  94. 

Edom,  4,  9,  263  ff.,  277  ff. 
Egypt,  8,  161. 
Egyptian  Sources,  19. 

—  Versions,  41. 

—  Views  of  Creation,  72. 
Elohim,  36.  45,  92. 
Elohist,  37. 

Elohistic  Document,  see  E. 
Elyon,  197. 
Enoch,  130. 
Erman,  72,  180,  347. 
Esau,  263. 
Etymologies,  22. 
Eve,  in. 

Fall,  4,  102. 

Flood,  4,  n,  18,  135. 

Genealogies,  37,  124. 
Generations,  37,  88. 
Genesis,  Analysis,  45. 

—  Composition,  9. 

—  Historical  Circumstances,  7. 

—  Interpretation,  47. 

—  Message,  3. 

—  Sources,  16. 

—  Transmission  of  Text,  40. 

—  xiv,  49,  185. 
German  Emperor,  19. 
Gilead,  20,  306. 
God,  see  Elohim. 

—  Doctrine  of,  4,  22  ff.,  31. 

—  in  History,  4. 

—  Fellowship  with,  6,  24. 

—  Names  of,  see  Divine  Names. 
Goshen,  375. 

Grave,  see  Sheol. 
Grundsclirift,  37. 
Gunkel,  63. 


Hagar,  5,  204. 
Ham,  132,  156  ff. 
Hammurabi,  17C,  49,  187. 
Hebrew,  186. 
Hebron,  20,  185. 
Hexateuch,  9. 

—  Oxford,  63. 
Historical  Element,  48  ff. 
History,  Ordinary,  47,  49. 

—  Religious  meaning,  5. 

—  Tribal,  4f.,  49. 

—  Typical,  48. 
Horses,  386  f. 
Hyksos,  354. 

Incarnation,  see  Christ. 
Inconsistent  Statements,  Speci 
mens  of,  10,231, 27 1,326,  36a 
Interpretation,  47. 
Isaac,  20,  211. 
Ishmael,  4,  206. 
Israel,  4,  314. 

J      (Jehovistic     or     Primitiv 
Document),  10,  22,  52. 

—  Characteristics,  22. 

—  Names  and  Symbols,  24. 

—  Contents,  24. 

JE  (Twofold  Document),  13,5a 

Jacob,  3  ff.,  20,  49. 

Jacobs,  265. 

Japheth,  132,  156  ff. 

Jastrow,  88. 

Jehovah,  see  Yahweh. 

Jensen,  63. 

Jerusalem,  20. 

Joseph,  3,  19,  49,  295,  334. 

Joshua,  21. 

Josiah,  13,  23. 

Kingdom,  9. 
Kittel,  173. 

Laban,  251. 
Lamech,  20,  132. 
Latin  Versions,  41  ff. 


INDEX 


411 


Law,  9,  15. 

Leah,  288. 

Literature,  63. 

I  Longevity  of  Patriarchs,  128. 
I  Lot,  173. 

LXX,  see  Septuagint. 

Lyrics,  20. 

Maccebas,  see  Sacred  Pillars. 
Mamre,  20,  184. 
Marriage,  101. 

Massoretic  Hebrew  Text,  44. 
Melchizedek,  194. 
Mesopotamia,  249. 
Message  of  Genesis,  3. 
Messianic  Passages,  109,  397. 
Methuselah,  131. 
Midian,  258. 
Moab,  9,  224. 
Moriah,  237. 

Mosaic    Authorship    of  Penta- 
teuch, Theory  of,  15  f.,  408. 
|Moses,  31. 
Most  High,  197. 
(Mourning,  405  f. 
|M  tiller,  177. 
xMup'}  204. 
1 


^ames    of    God, 
Names. 

Etymology   of, 
logies. 
imrod,  163. 
oah,  20,  132. 
omads,  8,  21. 


( 


Divi 


see   Et}'mo- 


►phir,  167. 


f  (Priestly  Document),   10, 
34,  52. 

Characteristics,  34. 

Contents,  37. 
6-  Names  and  Symbols,  37. 
paddan-aram,  262. 


- 


'aradise,  95. 
'aronomasia,  22. 


patriarchs,  4,  289  ft'.,  32&- 


Pentateuch,  9. 

—  Division  of,  13. 
Persia,  18. 
Pharaoh,  179. 
Philistines,  267. 
Pillars,  see  Sacred  Pillars. 
Place,  176. 

Plummer,  222. 

Polygamy,  12T. 

Potiphar,  341. 

Priestly  Document  (or  Code\ 

see  P. 
Primitive  Document,  see  J. 
Primogeniture,  232,  265. 
Prophet,  227. 
Prophetic  Documents,  24,  32. 

Q(  =  P),  37. 

R  (Editorial  Additions  or  Com- 
pilations), 52. 
Rachel,  287. 
Rainbow,  134. 
Rebekah,  243. 
Repetitions,  10,  135. 
Revelation,  5. 

—  Progressive,  7,  35. 

—  and  Science,  72. 

Sabbath,  88. 

Sacred Pillarsor  Stones,  31,  282. 

—  Trees,  22  f.,  103,  177. 

—  Wells,  207,  233. 
Sacrifice,  115. 

—  of  Children,  31. 
Samaritan-Hebrew      Text     of 

Pentateuch,  42. 
Sanchoniathon,  68. 
Sanctuaries,  Stories  from,  19  ft. 
Sarah,  Sarai,  173,  210. 
Satan,  see  Serpent. 
Sayce,  72,  96. 

Science,  Revelation,  &c,  72. 
Septuagint,  41. 
Serpent,  103  f. 
Shaddai,  208. 
Shechem,  20,  176. 


, 


412 


GENESIS 


Shekel,  228,  246. 

Shem,  132,  156  f. 

Sheol,  340. 

Shiloh  (?  Shelah),  397. 

Smith,  W.  Robertson,  95,   101, 

14a. 
Sodom,  215. 
Sons  of  God,  5,  133. 
Soul  (self),  179. 
Spurrell,  63,  157. 
Sykes,  215. 
Symbols,  Table  of,  52. 
Synonyms,  84. 
Syria,  8. 
Syriac  Version,  41. 

Targum,  397. 

Teraphim,  302. 

Text,  40. 

Threefold  Document,  13. 

Tidal,  188. 

Tithes,  197,  281. 

Title,  44. 


Torah,  9. 
Totems,  287  ft*. 
Traditions,  6f.,  12,  16,  48  f. 
Transmission  of  Genesis,  40. 
Trees,  Sacred,  22  f.,  103. 
Twelve  (number),  211,  243,326. 
Twofold  Document,  see  JE. 
Typical  Narratives,  48. 

Unclean  Food,  142. 
Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  173. 

Verses,  44. 
Versions,  40  f. 
Vulgate,  44. 

Wells,  Sacred,  207,  233. 
Westcott,  195. 
Winckler,  174. 
World  of  Ancient  Israel,  7. 

Yahweh,  19,  22  ft'.,  31,  36,  45. 
90  ft*. 


5/J4 


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